Love Is A Pain
by Alixter
Summary: This will revolve around Daxter and how he will be dealing with the love he has towards Jak.Takes place in Jak 3 but doesn't really follow the plot. Just know this is going to be a long and painful will be a slow build as I work out how I want things to go so please be patient. If any of you would be willing to, please leave reviews since it really helps. lololol I'm dying.
1. Chapter 1

It was another unbearably hot and dry day in the wasteland as Jak and Daxter prepared themselves for the mission they had for that day. Daxter certainly wasn't too keen on the idea of having to go out in this heat, but Jak had already decided on accepting a "request" that was made.

If it was up to Daxter he was two-thousand percent sure that the way Kliever "asked" them was more of a demand and that there were no options, but Jak had just dismissed it all as Kliever having a strange way for asking favors. He sure wasn't going to believe that the man asked for favors - even if it rained for a whole month in the desert. The guy just didn't know how to be polite or never had some decency drilled into him.

Daxter wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter considering that the man basically wore a diaper around town. He was very well near convinced that his father and mother probably wore a diaper as well since he had heard from others that he had been dressing like that for as long as they could remember.

Deciding that he didn't want to contemplate on how Kliever came about wearing an adult diaper, Daxter quickly moved his thoughts on to the events that led up to this beautiful moment as he sat on the nightstand in their small room while Jak finished getting ready.

Most of their morning had been taken up by heading out to the market place in Spargus to do some errands before the sun rose too high up in the sky. Having stocked up on essentials, food, and clothes they were on their way back to their house when they had been rudely stopped in the street by Kliever.

As usual, Kliever had more demanded than asked that Jak should go collect artifacts out in the desert giving the reason that the city needed repairs here and there and he would be too busy with doing that. Both Jak and Daxter knew that it was just a bunch of bull and that he just wanted to get out of having to go out in the desert and his responsibilities.

They really weren't in the mood to go out on a mission, especially since today was their "day off", but Daxter had been shocked that Jak-had accepted. Yes, he was slightly miffed, but not wanting to argue in the middle of town and especially now that they had to get ready for a mission, Daxter had kept his mouth shut except for a couple of snide remarks cast in Kleiver's direction. They had gone back to the area where they lived in in a rush and entered their house.

It was smaller than most houses, and to be quite honest, Daxter thought it was more like an apartment, but it sure beat being homeless so the both of them were grateful to have a place to call their own. Most people wouldn't be delighted with the tiny house, but most people haven't been through the hell they had been through.

From going from place to place non-stop, barely getting any sleep except for a couple of nights on a stone floor, and not being able to keep up their hygiene while fighting the Baron, they knew how to appreciate the little things that came their way.

Snapping out of his daze, Daxter decided that now would be a good time to bring up how they got stuck with this mission.

"Hey, Jak?"

"Yeah, Dax?"

"Why'd you accept Kleiver's "request" instead of blowing him off? We both know he could have done it himself," Daxter made sure to make quotation marks in the air when he said request. Jak paused for a moment, then proceeded on placing his gun into its place on his back.

Daxter just knew Jak was making up an excuse. He never did anything without having another reason for doing something besides the task itself. The task always played a smaller part in their "adventures." Jak finally turned towards Daxter to reply, which felt a little too long for Daxter's liking.

"Well, I just thought that if we helped with something like this, the people of Spargus would be . . . grateful, you know."

"But Jak, we already do a ton of stuff for them-nonstop. Don't you think they would be grateful enough? I mean, last week we joined a raid on a metalhead nest, and let me tell you, Jak, that was no easy task. I almost got picked off by one of those flying metalheads! And the gas-whoo-absolutely disgusting," Daxter's wine filled the air. He didn't even care if he might be a little insensitive, it was not easy being an ottsel so he got a free ride to be rude every now and then. He gave Jak his "okay, what's really on your mind look" to get to the real reason behind this mission.

"I get what you're saying Dax, but I already agreed so we do have to go collect the artifacts whether we want to or not. Besides, I really wanted to get some fresh air for a change and this task isn't as difficult as the others this past week. So we could relax a bit on this one," Jak only shrugged his shoulders and gave him a sheepish look.

Oh, Daxter knew what "relax" meant. To anyone else - "relax" meant relax - but to Daxter it meant adventure. So many times as kids Jak had invited him out to "relax" and goof around when it actually led to a dangerous adventure. _Can't say those weren't good times, but I need a little more convincing,_ he thought and here it came.

"If we hurry we can get back before it gets ridiculously late, and there might be some shops open with fruit that I would be willing to indulge you with," Jak gave him the smile that other people had never seen besides himself. Daxter narrowed his eyes not wanting to give away that he would agree, but Jak knew him too well.

It was only to be playful after all, and he already knew that late was probably a couple of days. _Oh well, can't be that bad of a decision to agree, but let's play it off Orange Lighting way._

Letting out a heavy sigh he hopping onto Jak's shoulder from the nightstand and huffed out dramatically, "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm only agreeing to go because you would be lost without me and miss my wonderful presence that you can't get enough of."

The only reply he got was Jak chuckling out, "Whatever you say, Dax."

Daxter kept quiet for a moment before poking Jak's cheek playfully to get his attention as they made their way out of their house. "You better keep that promise about the fruit, Jak," he smiled and Jak grinned back at him.

Jak sure was a handful, but he was his handful and that was okay with him. Afterall, their adventures were to die for, and so was Jak's company even though he wouldn't ever say it out loud. It wasn't that they didn't appreciate each other, but Daxter was sure he was the only one out of both of them that got lost in the other's existence.

He could just simply say he appreciates him as always, but it always got a little difficult to do every time without spilling the truth. Remember the invitations that he mentioned earlier about their childhood adventures? Yeah, most of the time he was scared shittless, but he still went on them because he wanted - needed - to be near Jak.

He had the biggest crush on him-even loved- even if Jak was as clueless as a lurker and would only think of him as a friend. Jak was just amazing to him. The way his face would brighten up when he agreed to go with him. That smile that would make anyone else envious would grace his face making him even more dazzling.

How could he say no? He also may or may not have been enthralled by the way his muscles moved under his clothes on multiple occasions as Jak had climbed up trees to get them fruit while Daxter caught them. Some of those fruit might have hit him in the face because of that, but Jak didn't need to know. Also the way he would get rescued by Jak always gave him butterflies in the stomach.

The fact that someone would look at him with such concern, especially Jak, it always felt like a punch in the gut. It left you breathless. Of course, Daxter just knew they wouldn't end up together. Jak was the Golden Boy, a hero, and full of masculinity and being turned into an ottsel sure didn't help Daxter at all. The village would also chuck him onto a merchant ship or into the jaws of a lurker shark just so they wouldn't end up together and Daxter couldn't ruin Jak.

Every parent that had a daughter wanted Jak to marry her. It sucked. It did make him feel like absolute shit until Jak still wanted to help him and care for him instead of dumping his ass on that island or just leaving him to Samos. But then there was Keira. A beautiful girl that was smart and charming and giggly and the girl that Jak actually showed interest in.

Okay, so he was bitter towards her and it was petty, but who gives a fuck. Not him that's for sure. After all those years of being put down by her and the other village kids he did have the right to be bitter. Now that he was thinking about it it Keira did treat him worse after everyone found out he was hanging out with Jak. Maybe he could get her to admit it and apologize.

Well, it was a long time ago so he guessed it didn't matter as much anymore. It wasn't like he was bitter towards her anymore, since they were kids back then and she did treat him nicely now. An all too familiar voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"What's up, Dax? You haven't said anything at all on the way here or even when Kleiver dissed us," Jak was giving him that concerned look and tone. Wow, he didn't even notice when Jak placed him in the dune hopper along with him. Oh great, did he really just think of Jak all the way to the exit gate? He would need to start thinking of something else.

"I was just thinking about Sandover and how everything is so different, that's all," giving a half-truth wasn't bad since if he lied all the way Jak would notice.

"Oh. Well don't get so distracted when we get out in the desert, alright." A slight pause came as the sound of the vehicle starting filled the air and the gate's screech as it opened reached his ears. And then Jak's voice called for his attention again. "Were you thinking of all of our awesome adventures and how this one is going to be just as awesome?"

There was that playful voice and the hidden meaning. Daxter knew Jak still felt sorry for his predicament no matter how many times he told him not to, but he'll get Jak to stop worrying so much all the time.

"Of course!" Daxter blurted out and smiled at Jak. "Remember when you would always lead me up to the forbidden forest just to get fruit everyone else was too scared to get and then go down to the beach to eat it?" Playing over happy memories always got Jak to forget. _Oh, there are lots of other sad folks heading out into the desert too. Suckers-wait, I'm one of them too,_ Daxter thought as they drove out into the open ocean of sand.

"Yeah. Remember all the times the fruit would smack you in the face 'cause you were spacing out?" _Oh noooo,_ Daxter groaned inwardly. "What were you always thinking of either way, Dax?" Now Jak was looking at him and Daxter knew it was with curiosity even with those damn goggles hiding his eyes.

Damn it. Why did he have to look so attractive with the scarf pulled over his mouth and nose and the goggles resting so perfectly on his nose and the sandy air whipping around him as they drove around? Oh yeah, it's _**Jak**_ , that's why.

"I was always thinking about how much trouble we would be in, and when I say we-I mean me, when Samos and the village people found out where we went. The wooden floors of Samos's hut still haunt me to this day, Jak. So dirty every day. How did he even live in those conditions? I mean, you would expect someone so respected to be clean and tidy, ya' know?" Daxter was most definitely _**not**_ trying to dodge the truth.

Jak looks at him for a little and then bursts into laughter as he looks back out into the desert passing a patch of some weird looking trees. Daxter really wishes he could see how his face looks laughing without all that coverage and with the sun hitting his face in all the right places. He could feel the sandy air whipping his ears and fur all over the place, so he knows he looks like a mess, but then again he was an ottsel so why would Jak care? On the other hand Jak never looks like a mess. Damn.

"I can't believe you would think of that while I was tossing the fruit down at you. You seriously thought of Samos making you sweep his hut every time? Like not just once or twice, but _every_ time we went?" Okay, now you could really hear the curiosity and seriousness embedded in the questions. Shit.

"Well, maybe not every time, but it was enough. And before you ask me about the other times I was thinking of how envious all the other kids would be that we had all this delicious fruit and they didn't." Nice save Orange Lightning.

"Wow, if I knew you actually liked collecting and eating the fruit so much I would have taken you up the first time instead of just bringing you one the first couple of times I went," Jak's voice was laced with his amusement and then he perked up. Daxter will have to remember to ask Jak about those first times.

Okay, it was mainly because he did feel that same giddiness remembering that Jak had only brought _him_ fruit and not anyone else."Okay, let's keep talking about this right now, but there is an artifact right up ahead. You know the drill," Jak turned to him all goofiness gone and replaced with seriousness.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I quickly jump out, get the artifact, and move as quick as I can back to the car and away we go," Daxter gave him the finger guns and Jak snorted at him skidding to a stop near the artifact.

You ran a risk of breaking the artifact with your car if you came to close, and they had learned this the hard way, so they made out a safe distance of where to stop and always followed that guideline. Daxter jumped out of the car making a quick beeline for the artifact the hot sand licking at his feet only encouraging him to hurry up when the sound of another vehicle filled the air.

He knew it was the marauders that roamed the desert making things more dangerous but he was on a mission and he would finish it. He didn't even stop when Jak called him back. Instead Daxter ran on all fours to speed up. Okay, this is probably one of those bad choices he tends to make, like the one where he wanted to open the water valve himself and got sucked up into the pipes, but probably worse. Much worse.

Yeah, he reached the artifact and was currently holding it in his arms, but he was also getting further from Jak. Who would have thought that he would get picked off the nice soft desert floor and placed into a _**MARAUDER'S**_ car? He certainly didn't and he could tell Jak was after them so he didn't have to be scared, right?

Jak was going to be sooo pissed at him if he lived and that was going to be scary. He absolutely _hated_ it when Jak got mad at him. He preferred the dazzling smiles to his frowns. Deciding to see how close Jak was he peered out the window. He could feel his body turn cold as he felt his heart fall into his stomach and the nausea hit him hard.

Jak was trying to lose some three other marauders off his tail, but he was getting further and further and further and _oh precursors_ he has officially made the worst mistake of his life cause not only is a giant gross slimy hand pulling him away from Jak, his Jak, but also cause of an equally repulsive laughter booming in his ears after a very sinister. " _Mine now, little ottsel._ "


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark and the smell of waste was strong when Daxter opened his eyes. Within the small confines of the cage he was in Daxter shifted his body into a stretching position holding it until his body popped releasing the stress that his body had stored overnight. Sitting up he released a heavy yawn while rubbing sand out of his eyes. Blinking languidly he looked around the room that was cluttered with trash, machine parts and cans.

This had become a familiar routine to him since he had been picked off by the Marauder over a month ago. The idea of having to sleep, eat, and release his waste in the same place had never crossed his mind at any point in his life, until now. Daxter had been born human and had been treated as human his friends even after having been turned into an ottsel. He never realized for the state he was in it had been a blessing that he had not been treated like an actual pet and animal up to this point.

The first few days had been absolute hell for him. On arriving to the city the marauders had he had been thrown unceremoniously into a cage and locked in there. When the cage had been opened the first time he tried escaping, but there had been another guy that had grabbed him by the throat and kept him still. He had to watch as the small cage was set up to become his new home. He knew that there was going to be no way that he would shit in the same place he would eat and sleep in.

It just wasn't something that was realistic or had any possibility of happening to him. Of course, he had been shoved back into the cage and was left in there for the rest of the day. A couple of times the marauder that picked him up tried selling him off to other people as he walked around the city, but nobody wanted to buy him.

On arriving back to where the man lived he had been placed on the table in the living room. Daxter already knew that he could not talk to him as Jak had already warned him in other occasions that people could hurt him or he might end up in a worse situation and that it was best if he pretended that he was a regular ottsel.

At the moment Daxter had really needed to take a piss and he was in no way going to pee in the cage where he was going to be resting in, so sucking up his pride he gave a wine and clawed at the cage as the man walked away. The man had paused in his steps and gave him a look of realization and scoffed out.

"You are just an animal, and while that green haired bastard might have trained you to live freely and do your business elsewhere, we are not the same person. I have given you a home and I expect you to live as a regular animal. There is no special treatment for a trained pet and I do not trust you to not run away. Where you rest and eat will be the same place you will shit in. You had better get used to it because your situation is not bound to change anytime soon. "

The man had just retreated into his room and left Daxter absolutely distressed. This was the first time, in a long time, that he wanted to burst into tears and cry out for Jak to save him, but Jak wasn't there to save him from this nightmare. Daxter sat there for fifteen minutes desperately holding in his urine even if he was uncomfortable and in pain, but he could only hold out for so long.

This was the third time in that day that he had been humiliated. First, with being shoved into a cage, secondly, he had been treated as merchandise,and thirdly, he was being forced to sleep with his own waste. Moving off into a corner Daxter positioned himself so he wouldn't end up soiling himself and looked to the door where the man had disappeared into with absolute hatred.

Having finished with his business Daxter had retreated to the farthest corner from where the act had been committed. Curling up into a tight ball, Daxter tried to sleep, but his heightened sense of smell being unforgiving, reminded him of what he was going to be forced into doing any time he needed to relieve himself.

Daxter felt the fur on his cheeks become damp as he allowed himself to let a couple of tears fall. A couple of tears turned into a constant fall and soon enough his small frame shook with the silent sobs that wracked through him as he felt the remaining dignity that he held onto slip away from him.

Now Daxter had become used to all the smells and treatment he received so nothing came to him as a surprise now. His fur didn't have the same glossy look it had when he first came and he was smaller in size since he wasn't feed the correct food, but it did beat being dead to him. He still hasn't given up on the idea of getting out and back to Spargus, but it sure would take him a lot of hard work to get there.

He knew Jak would still be looking for him, but Daxter also knew that Jak was stretched thin between having to help at Spargus and helping those in Haven city as well. Either way, it was him that helped Jak save the world from Gol and Maia, and he had also found Jak and gotten him out of the Baron's hands, so he should be able to get himself out of this scrape. The sound of a door creaking open helped bring Daxter back to where he was as his head snapped in its direction. A blonde woman quietly stepped out and moved to exit the house.

Last night the marauder he was a captive of had held a "small" party at his house and he was positive that him and the blonde had slept together. It wasn't unusual for the man to hold parties, but Daxter was uncomfortable with it since one of the guys that always came made a big deal of mentioning that he probably tasted good and that they should cook him.

It always bothered him but he couldn't do anything or voice his discomfort. The blonde seemed to notice he was awake and made her way over to him. He couldn't really understand why she came over. To anyone that looked on him he was just a sick and dirty looking ottsel so he didn't hold any appeal. She looked into his cage and gave a very displeased sound. Daxter couldn't believe her, _sooo sorry my neglected cage is a fucking mess._ She walked away and picked something off the ground and soon his cage was covered by a cloth.

He thought it was really stupid of her to cover his cage since she was leaving. Daxter started as he felt his cage being lifted and he realized that this girl planned on stealing him from the scary marauder. He had no idea what she had in store for him or why she wanted him but right now this moment could be the one he had been looking for, so Daxter made sure to keep quiet so the guy wouldn't wake up.

When the cloth had been finally removed Daxter had been greeted by a cleaner looking home and the seemingly nice blonde. She was looking him over and Daxter looked back. He was nervous what she would do, but glad that he was in a cleaner place. Leaning back she looked away and opened her mouth.

 **"** I can't believe he would keep you in such terrible conditions. Whoever that guy was. He had no right to stuff you into such a small space, and one that is sooo dirty. My name is Clara and I'll take care of you far better than that guy has. Don't worry little guy, I'll release you back into the wild as soon as you're healthy again. I like too help the animal that get brought down here and get mistreated. For now, I think a bath would be for the best and getting rid of this cage as well. **"**

To say he was surprised was an understatement. He was completely blown back by this girl. He could tell she was sincere in what she said but it was difficult to believe what she said after a whole month of that treatment. She walked back with a towel in hand after having g gone into a different room and picked up his cage once again and head outside.

This was an entirely different part of the city that he didn't know existed. He was used to seeing the place dirty and filled with people, but this part was beautiful. There were almost nobody walking outside and the area looked clean with nice little houses spaced out and not cramped. The stone ceiling arched smoothly above and merged with an equally smooth wall.

Where he had earlier lived the ceiling was jagged and fell low creating this caged in feeling that you couldn't go far. Looking back down Daxter was pleased to see a large cave spring come into view. The surrounding bank was smooth and only a couple of rocks were littered about. The water looked clear and reflected the ceiling and surrounding rock creating a perfect mirror.

The way the water reflecting the ceiling made it look as if a galaxy existed right there and anyone could reach out and touch it. Daxter pressed his face against the cage already shaking with anticipation of feeling the clean water against his skin. He felt like it was a dream that he was so far away from that nasty house and in fantasy like place. Clara seemed to notice his impatience and she let a small chuckle out as she set him down next to a metal basin.

It did make sense that she would bathe him in there since he guessed that the cave spring was where everyone got their water. It would be very rude to contaminate the water since people might get sick and die. Not that Daxter was fantasizing about that at all. Soon enough the metal basin was filled with enough water after a couple of trips back and forth that Clara knelt down by him and opened his cage door.

Daxter almost flew past the basin with how desperate he was with getting into the water and being clean after what felt like an eternity. Crawling over the rim Daxter fell in with a small splash and reveled in the feeling of the soothing water caress his worn out body. A pleasant laugh rang out into the air as he resurfaced out of the water and he turned to look at Clara who smiled down at him sweetly.

 **"** I knew you would be delighted to get clean! I bet your fur used to be really beautiful. Here let me help you get clean. **"**

With her comment all Daxter could do was smugly think, _of course it was until that brute basically ruined me._ She leaned over and he flinched. Pulling back her hands a bit she tried beckoning him towards her. She wasn't being forceful about so he cautiously made his way towards her. Reaching out she ran a hand through his fur and began scrubbing. Daxter was amazed and disgusted with how quickly the clear water was turning dirty. Even though he still felt iffy about her, Daxter still appreciated the help she was giving him.

If she was going to help him get better and release him then maybe getting free wouldn't be that difficult. The only problem then would be how he would get back to Spargus or survive the desert. Small hands picked him out of the water and Daxter let out a protesting wine. He wasn't ready to leave his bath.

 **"** Hold on, I'll put you back in but I have to get you clean water. I need to clean you thoroughly if you're going to stay inside. **"**

Understanding Daxter sat patiently as she dumped the water out nearby and filed the tin basin with more water. He also didn't want to stay outside and was secretly hoping she would give him somewhere comfortable to sleep. The basin being filled once again, Daxter was placed in the water and fully cleaned within the next half hour.

After being taken out and carried back into the house, Daxter did feel that his skin was a bit raw but it was sooo much better than being filthy. He felt entirely ready to fall asleep in the towel but his stomach called out to remind him that he hasn't eaten anything in the entire day. Shifting around a bit and trying to ignore his hunger Clara's kind voice caught his attention.

 **"** Oh, you must be hungry after not eating for a while. I don't want to give you anything heavy since that might hurt you more than help you so how does some star fruit sound? The trees that grow on this mountain are covered with trees that bear the fruit so it's not like I can't get you more. I think that would be a good meal before going to sleep, don't you think so? **"**

Daxter really wanted to cry out tears of gratitude with how kind this girl was being to him. She didn't have to be this nice to him, but here she was an absolute angel. Untangling himself from the towel Daxter moved closer to the girl as she began to cut the fruit and place into a small bowl. He couldn't wait to eat the fruit since he hadn't had anything good to eat within the past month.

He was sure that if he didn't die from the condition of the cage he would have certainly died from malnutrition. As soon as Clara presented him with the bowl he instantly moved to devour the fruit. Daxter almost choked on the sobs that threatened to spill out of him as he finally tasted the heavenly food. It had been so long since he had tasted something so good. Out of the corner of his eye Daxter could see that Clara had placed a bowl of water next to him and was looking at him sadly and he felt extremely bitter that she would pity him, but he knew she didn't mean any harm so he let it go and continued to eat.

He didn't want anyone to pity him since it wasn't necessary and he didn't need it. He had been through a lot of tough shit and this wasn't the worst of it. He couldn't be upset about it much longer since Clara had no knowledge of that and just thought he was a regular ottsel. Daxter quickly finished of the fruit and moved on to drink the water. Clara got up to remove the dirty bowl from the table and returned shortly.

He didn't know if he could trust her entirely, but he knew she wasn't a bad person so he didn't think any harm could come from what he planned on doing. Turning to face her after wiping his chin Daxter looked her in the face free of any fear he felt.

 **"** Thank you for taking me away from that guy and helping me. I really am grateful. I thought I would be stuck there for a long time and before you panic I want to ask you to not scream or hurt me. **"** His voice sounded a lot rougher than he expected it to sound but he knew that it would sound course after not talking for so long. However, he wasn't ready for how raw his throat felt after saying so little.

 **"** Oh my precursors, you talk... How is that even possible? Animals don't talk. Especially not ottsels. What the heck. _What the heck did I get myself into._ Alright! Before anything else happens and you reveal anymore surprises, _you_ have to tell me how you got down here and where you come from. I want to know everything and if I feel like you're lying to me... I don't know what I'll do yet but it isn't going to be pleasant so get talking! **"**

Clara didn't look like she was expecting this at all and even looked upset.

This was going to be tiring and Daxter would rather much sleep but his life might be on the line so he'll just have to tell her what she wants to know and hope for the best.

She didn't seem to be that important in this city so there really couldn't come any harm from telling her anything. Besides it would be nice to have someone that he could complain to. Sitting back down in the towel and making himself comfortable Daxter began.

 **"** First of all I think you should know that my name is Daxter and I wasn't always like this. To tell you where I come from I'll have to go back to the beginning. So it all started with a small village called Sandover... **"**


	3. Chapter 3

"...and that is how I ended up in all this mess," Daxter huffed out a long tired sigh. Thinking things through, life had been a lot more unforgiving than he had initially thought. He had been left behind by his parents at Sandover,ignored, abused, and in a short couple of years, ended up smack in the middle of a journey that never seemed to end. _Wow_ , how could he have thought life had graced him so well.

He supposed he had just gotten used to the way of unstable life, not knowing what would fuck you up next. It wasn't something to be proud of, and he sure as hell knew that. He could only think of the blissful moment him and Jak would have when they did finally free themselves of this stupid responsibility of saving the universe. He understood that Jak had been chosen to be a hero, but he can't help but wish that Jak never got picked to be hero and they could be living peacefully on Sandover.

Daxter blinked blearily as he watched Clara's face. She hadn't said a word since he started recounting the events of his life and at the moment had a pensive look on her face. Time seemed to painfully drag itself forward for Daxter as he waited for a response. He was so tired, his entire body seemed to be weighed down by the weight of the world. It would be the most wonderful thing if he could just let his eyes fall shut with the next blink, but he knew if he didn't wait for her response, Daxter could wake up and find himself outside the next day.

He really wouldn't mind that happening since water was readily available and executing an escape would be easier in a way. He wouldn't have to convince her to help him and wouldn't have to depend on her help, but he didn't know the city as well as she did so maybe it wouldn't be bad to depend on her. Afterall, Clara had been nothing but kind to him so far so there wasn't a need for him to react in a hostile manner. It would be good if he stayed awake, but his eyelids felt oh so heavy with every shut and open. Just as Daxter began to doze off the sound of Clara's voice slapped him back to consciousness.

"Okay, so you mean to tell me that _you_ used to be _human_ but fell in dark eco and turned into an _ottsel_? Not only that, but you and your friends went on this crazy adventure and ended up traveling through time to end up here..." There was a slight pause as Clara was letting the information sink further in.

Shaking her head she started up again. "That really doesn't make any sense, you are aware of that, right? On another note, when did you plan on telling me that you could talk? Why didn't you say anything to me right at the beginning? You aren't a bad per-ottsel, well whatever, you have to come clean if we are going to be on good terms," Clara gave Daxter a stern look and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly unimpressed with Daxter's choice of not telling her everything up front.

Daxter quickly pulled himself up into a sitting position to keep himself awake. "Uh, well for starters, could you please refer to me as being a human being. I still consider myself to be human and the only thing that has really changed about me is my physical form. I also really didn't plan on keeping it a secret that I could talk, but the time to tell you didn't seem right until now." Daxter paused for a while trying to think out a proper response.

" I know what I told you sounded like it could be made up, but it really isn't - my best friend Jak and I honestly got thrown into god awful journey we didn't want to be a part of in the first place. Can you believe that? We just started went on our adventure to turn me back into human, but we ended up with this...and I didn't even get back to being human. That fucking sucks 'cause we went around basically everywhere and didn't even get our end goal. And if you really think about it the old sage had us fucked from the very beginning. After all, he is the _only_ person who knew about everything that was going on since the beginning. Ya know, I wonder if Kiera knew the truth too. She is his kid afterall. That'd be real sad for Jak if that was the knowing about all of this crap. He really likes her. Basically loves her at this point to be honest. Even though they kinda are upset with eachother right now, they still care about each other. It would also suck if she didn't know anything, 'cause then that'd mean her own dad used her too. Oh, crap, I'm ranting now sorry," Daxter gave her an apologetic look. He could really get off topic at times, but now was not the time.

Clara ran a hand over her face and looked at him seriously for a couple of moments before standing up and picking him up in a single fluid motion. _Shit, she's tossing me out_ , was the only thought running through Daxter's mind as his body tensed up and went rigid. He had told himself that he wouldn't care if she tossed him out, but that was just him lying to himself so he wouldn't feel as terrified. Now he was regretting having thought so. Tough thinking did not get you out of tough situation.

"I find it difficult to believe what you said, but you seem sincere in what you say. Besides, you being a human and getting turned into an ottsel by dark eco kinda seems like a thing that could have happened. We don't really know much about dark eco, aside from the fact that it's dangerous. So, I guess I'll let you stay with me and we'll figure out a way to get you back to your friend, uh, Jak. For now, you just sleep since it's late and we'll continue on tomorrow!" Clara released Daxter from her arms causing him to give out a surprised squeak, but was pleasantly surprised to land in a small soft bed.

He was aware that the bed was made for smaller animals she helped and it wasn't anything like the bed he shared with Jak, but it was a nice upgrade from what he had been sleeping in. He could rest peacefully now and not feel cramped up and constantly uncomfortable. He felt thankful that people like Clara existed that went out of their way to help others.

"Thanks for not tossing me out," Daxter called out to Clara's form leaning against the doorway.

"Just sleep, Daxter, you need to get your strength back in order to get back to your home. Oh, you also need to sleep since we're going on a small trip tomorrow!" He could hear distantly the glee in her voice as he slowly became enveloped in darkness. Sheesh, what could be so exciting in such a dark underground town.

Slowly, Daxter opened his eyes and blinked several moments trying to adjust to the light in the room. Once his awareness had finally caught up to him he jumped up into a standing position trying to remember where he was. Memories of what had happened dawned upon him as he realized he was no longer in a cage and actually in a comfortable bed. Running his hands through the soft material, Daxter thought about Clara and how kind she was. He really wasn't used to people treating him so well.

Trying to remember as far back as he could, people really only had treated him like he wasn't anybody at all. Just a thing they could relieve stress or just poke fun at him. Human or ottsel. No one really looked at him with any respect.

Clenching fistfuls of the fur the bed was made of in each hand, Daxter breathed in slowly, deeply and released in a small stream of warm air, willing the tears that pricked at the edges of his eyes away. _Alright, no need to get emotional Dax. You still got people that appreciate ya',_ nodding to himself he continued with his personal pep talk. ' _There is Tess, who is an absolute angel, and Jak, he would never dump in a ditch and leave you to die. Wow, okay, just two people. That is a smidge pathetic, but...it is what it is.'_

Working up courage to face Clara without having an emotional spell, Daxter leaped down from his perch up on the bed located on a nightstand and made his way out of the room to the kitchen. He could play off any left over tears from yawning. As expected, he saw what he had already guessed, the early bird that was Clara. He sat and watched for a bit as she moved around the kitchen preparing what looked like breakfast.

It was strange to him how women could move around so gracefully, or just how people could move around so well. It's times like this that he misses his human body. The feeling of being able to socialize and move along with others in a natural way. It was difficult never being considered human just because of his physical form. It was even more difficult getting used to it when he barely got changed. Yeah, people might have paid a little more attention to him, but it wasn't like they were treating him human. They were treating him like an animal and that had always bugged him.

It wasn't like he had given up on finding a way to return to his human body, but he knew it wasn't something likely to happen soon. Waiting, waiting, and eternally waiting. Sometime staying positive consumed all the energy he had in reserve. He really wanted to be and _feel_ human again. Getting back into action was the only way to distract himself from the waiting, so up he jumped onto a chair seated at the table.

"Good mornin', Clara! Need any help with anything?" Daxter looked expectantly around him, hoping he could be of use somehow. Distraction was what he really needed at the moment from his stupid overbearing thoughts.

"Oh! Good morning, Daxter!" Clara turned to greet him with a radiant smile that seemed to pull at his heart. " I'm actually about finished here so you can just sit there while I serve the food. Besides, I want all your attention on what I'm about to tell you on our adventure today!" The way she said adventure and looked at him with a gleam in her eye seemed a little suspicious to Daxter, but he accepted the food given to him and dug in with enthusiasm. Vegetables, fruit, nuts, and a bit of meat. Clara sure was doing an amazing job of giving him the good stuff in life.

 _Oooh, this food still tastes like heaven!_ Holding back a moan of bliss, Daxter tried to keep his composure. Honestly, it wasn't his fault the stuff tasted so damn good. Starvation does weird things to you and makes you make weird noises. Making weird noises though was a straight way to making him embarrassed and gave Clara fodder to poke fun at him. Not happening.

"So! What's this 'adventure' you have planned out for today?" Daxter looked up at Clara, entirely invested in wanting to know what was up. If the air quotes did not sell his interest he will bug her until she gives him a response. Adventure on day two at Clara's seemed like something he should be worried about. Adventure never truly just meant adventure from his experience.

"Well, I thought that today would be a good day for you to try and get some sun by exploring nearby ruins! Okay, don't give me that sass filled look, Daxter," Clara responded to Daxter's raised eyebrow with her own eyebrow raise, " you need to get exercise and sunlight, so what better way than exploring some nearby places? It won't be as bad as you think, and you can find some useful stuff there. Didn't you say you and your friend always went out to ruins to look around? Maybe you'll see him there by miracle."

Daxter shuffled side eyeing Clara a bit as he considered this offer. _Hmm, not bad. Can't really say no to something like that if it gives me the probability of getting back to Jak again. I could use getting reaquainted with the sun as well. It's always damp and a little chilly here with stagnant air. Okay!_ Narrowing his eyes he finally turned to face Clara and declared his decision.

"Alright, Clara, I accept going on this 'adventure' of yours since it doesn't seem like it will be that bad. After all, how can Orange Lighting reject such a noble request from a pretty lady. It would be scandalous if anyone found out that I had told you no. Especially since you are doing this out of concern for me."

"Can it, Dax"

"Understandable. When do we depart on this merry trip to the dark and dangerous past of this desert kingdom?"

"Now would be a good idea, of course, as long as it doesn't bother your sensitive self that much, sir Orange Lighting," there was a snicker there but he was acting a bit dramatic so he'll let it slip.

"Woow! Really? Like, you already packed up everything we would need for the ruins?" An enthusiastic nod on Clara's part was all he needed as a response. _No wonder she's so impatient to go._ "Wow, you sure got your life together. Can't say the same for me though, but I think you already knew that when you found me!"

"Hahaha! It's settled! Let's go! Adventure awaits us and so does your prince charming!" Clara shot up and sprinted out of the kitchen to grab their equipment.

 _What the fucking -_ Daxter spun around to where she disappeared and shouted indignantly, "He is not my prince charming! Shut up, Clara!"

" Uh huh, sure. I heard you murmur his name in your sleep, " she shouted back from the other room. " Were you two more than friends before you got changed or what? I mean he really went out of his way to try and change you back and you two are basically stuck together like glue, right? No one really does that unless they really care or love someone."

"I am so ready to get going on this adventure! The energy is literally rolling off my body! I'll meet you outside Clara!" Daxter quickly hopped down from the table and made his way to the front door as Clara emerged from the room carrying all sorts of equipment.

"Tell me, Daxter! It's no fair! You'll be with me for a while so we should get to know each other, don't ya think? I'll tell you anything you want to know about me too," She fluttered her eyelashes in his direction and he knew in that moment he would end up telling her even if he didn't want to. Women sure know how to get the things they want in ways men don't. Daxter could try learning a thing or two from her.

"Ugh, I guess I'll tell you about what's _not_ going on! You read between the lines too much, Clara. You should be careful," Daxter wagged a finger at her, "the precursors always warn about things you shouldn't dig too deep into."

"Oh, shut up, Daxter. I can smell when things are not right, and I can tell you there is more between you and Jak than what you are telling me~!" If Clara was not loading heavy things onto an old looking buggy he would most definitely smack said heavy things out of her hands just to be a little shit and retaliate.

"Sdjfjkd you cannot smell shit 'cause there is nothing to smell!" Daxter hopped up into the buggy to look at her from a better angle and crossed his arms over his chest. " I swear! Besides it's an emotional train wreck of a story with no real happy ending that will ever come into sight. Trust me, you don't want to get invested in my sad basically non-existent love life. I'm giving you a fair warning here."

A small hand ran through the fur on his head as Clara sympathetically patted his head. "Awww, it's alright, Dax, you can tell me all that troubles your little heart." A pout had officially formed on Daxter's face that did not plan on leaving soon.

"I never knew you could be such a jerk. Nobody would know with the pretty face you have sporting," Daxter ducked into the passenger seat and curled up.

"I never knew you would be such a tormented love-stricken boy, but here we are! You should start off by telling me about your personal life! Nothing about your boy or friends, just you!" Clara climbed into the driver's seat and started up the buggy that sounded like it was ready to officially die and never come on again.

"It's not interesting, but I guess some back story would be needed for this great tale of mine, huh." Daxter settled down into the seat, the familiar feeling of riding out towards the desert in the morning calming him. Well, they were still deep in the city, but the feeling was still there and soon there will be a bright sun and blue skies to greet him. What was something that he didn't want to do was quickly turning into excitement and hope that he would be able to get back home. It wasn't that he didn't like Clara it was that she just wasn't the tall, angry, handsome, sarcastic, and deep down sweet idiot that Jak was.

Yeah, he was acting a bit sappy with thinking about Jak as if they were estranged lovers, but wishful thinking never hurt anyone, so far at the very least. He'll just have to remember to hold himself back and remember what reality was when he did see Jak again. Before what he personally wanted, he was Jak's best friend and he wouldn't want to lose that bond for anything in the world, even if it meant they would never be together. Being near him was enough for Daxter at the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Daxter could feel the anxiety he was feeling as they neared the city gate rise up and encompass him, consuming any thoughts he had. Talking to Clara about himself had helped distract himself from any worries he might have had, but now that they were there, he couldn't help but feel trepidation. The guards there were intimidating. The heavy looking masks they wore hid any emotion that might be on display and reading their actions was made far more difficult than it should be. He didn't know if they would remember him from when he first arrived, but hopefully they just ignored him throughout the entire experience.

Getting the approval to pass through brought on a sense of relief for Daxter. If he kept feeling stressed he would surely lose tons of fur by the end of the month. No exaggeration. The only positive thing about losing fur is not getting ticks or fleas. Those bastards were the worst once you got infested. He could remember the time when he got infested with them barely arriving to Haven city. It was constant discomfort and itching and waiting for the sweet release of death. Obviously he didn't die, but getting rid of them had been embarrassing. Especially when Torn brought it up as a way to make fun of him or to torment him.

At least he didn't have to listen to Torn or deal with the suicide missions he always sent them on. Now that he thought about it, this could be considered a vacation. A shitty one, but it was still a good break from being shot at or nearly exploded 24/7. It seemed like the city was a ways underground considering all he was seeing was rock surrounding them and they were driving up an inclination. Well at least they were saved from scorching heat of the desert, and they had plenty of water to survive on. He guessed the only downside was that they had to go out to hunt for food and look for precursor artifacts to help the city stay functioning.

Daxter still thought powercells were pretty nifty, even if the precursors themselves were stupid. Powercells still held fond memories for him of times where things were better and the sky was blue with crystal clear oceans. Maybe they could find a way to get back to those times, and maybe they can have happy lives by the sandy beach, just enjoying the warm sun sinking into their skin and the salty ocean spray kissing their faces. Of course, it probably wasn't ever going to happen and he just needed to concentrate on finding a way to make things better for them here in this different time. Happiness could only be reached in this time and moment of their lives, and the past is something they have lost entirely, except for in their memories.

Clara hadn't really said much on their drive through the winding tunnels of jagged rock and dripping water. From his perch in the buggy Daxter could see the light that was reflected in the droplets hanging from the end of the thousands of stalactites softly reaching downward from the cavern's rooftop. Turning his head in direction of where the light was coming from Daxter could make out the opening of the room where the sun was filtering in through. It seemed like forever since the last time he saw _actual_ sunlight and not just light from candles or electricity.

The buggy roared its way out to meet the sun in a splash of water of and sand that seemed to sparkle indefinitely in the rays of sunlight. Daxter closed his eyes knowing well that the sun, while being the most wondrous thing to exist, would sting his eyes like a wumpbee that has been severely pissed off. Daxter felt like he could melt into the buggy and never return with how _good_ the warmth of the sun felt on his skin. If he was being honest, he could honestly cry out of joy, but he wasn't going to do that. Yet.

Beside him Daxter could tell that Clara had shifted and probably wanted to make sure that he wasn't in pain or going blind from the light. It's always a good idea to let people know how you're doing, especially if they were taking care of you like a saint.

"Before you ask anything, yes I am doing fine the sun is just a little to bright after being down underground for so long," Daxter moved his head to face in Clara's general direction letting her know that he was paying attention to her.

"Oh, are you sure? I'm actually glad you're doing so well with being brought out into the sun after so long. Just tell me if things get too uncomfortable for you and I'll find us a good shady place where you can rest your eyes, alright?"

"Mmm, I'll tell ya. Either way I doubt I'll be so terribly done in by the sun, after all I've nearly been blown up in a kg armory. Hahaha, I'll be fine Clara, don't worry so much. If I'm being honest, I'm actually lookin' forward to these ruins you were talking about. Anything particularly interesting about them?" After really thinking about it, Daxter really had gotten curious about the ruins. Clara didn't seem like the type of person to just go to old dangerously falling apart areas.

"You better tell me if anything is bothering you, Dax. I'll skin you otherwise," there was a slight pause and the sound of sand being crunched under wheels was the only thing to be heard. "About the ruins...well, I heard from some scavengers that there was this...weird aura coming from the place. Like something that sort of drew them in but scared them at the same time. I just thought it would be interesting to take a look around. I mean nothing bad can really come from just taking a peek around you know."

"With all the stuff you brought I wouldn't really consider it 'taking a peek around', but it can't be any bad I suppose. Well, if anything bad happens you are with an expert in dealing with situations that have gone to shit!" At this point in the conversation Daxter had taken up trying to open his eyes in the light with quickly blinking and shielding his eyes with his hands.

"Hahahaha! Well, at least one of us knows how to deal with bad situations that involve old ruins. You said you used to go on adventures with your friend Jak, right? How did those adventures usually go? You guys ever find anything interesting or good at these ruins?" Clara had this look of childish excitement that Daxter didn't think people could still have in these days. He hoped Clara could keep that way of looking at the world and life. She didn't need to have her life screwed over or shit all over by others. She was too kind to deserve that.

"Uuuh, well, there were lots of...old artifacts? Okay, don't give me that disappointed look, it's been awhile since we went on an 'adventure'. Well, most of the time the places we went to were kind of rigged and had lots of booby traps so I'm guessing this place might be similar if folks are saying the place has got a weird feeling to it. They do have lots of interesting things in them, but I think it's best if ya just saw them for yourself. We just got to be extra careful, ya know," Daxter was looking out across the desert, taking everything in and appreciating the desert even if it was a death trap. He was also keeping an eye out for any buildings that might pop up.

"I guess we'll just have to explore the entire thing then!" Clara looked like she was on cloud nine. She probably had a thing for thrills and adventures. "Do you think we'll find any cool precursor items in there? I want to find something so awesome and take it back with me. Of course, I won't sell it or let anyone have it. It'll just be for me, as a memory of our adventure out in the wild!"

"How much longer till we get there, Clara? I feel like we've been seeing nothing but dirt for weeks," Daxter slid down into the passenger seat, feeling a little too heated after being out of the sun for a good half year at most.

"I know it feels like years of sand to you, but we've only been driving for close to an hour now. Honestly it's not that far from here so quit whining you big baby," Clara was amused and Daxter could tell. She was good company. The best he has had so far in this world where pain and rudeness was the only thing that came in abundance, besides dark eco.

"I hope we get there soon. I'm itching to get some action in since my muscles are all sore from not being used! From what you know of these ruins, do you think there will be anything useful? You said those guys said there was a magical thing to it,right? What if we find something strange or unknown!? That would be so cool!" Daxter, out of excitement, had hopped up by Clara's head and searched the desert eagerly for any sign of the ruins.

"I'm glad you're excited! I'm hoping that what we find will have a medical property to it. We could heal people and animals in the city more efficiently and better with something like that," Clara's voice had grown a little somber and Daxter became a little concerned.

"You can't really get much of any medicinal herbs growing down there, huh? And I highly doubt you guys can get any green eco from anywhere in the desert," it wasn't like Daxter was concerned about those people in the city that came out and attacked the people of Spargus, but Clara had become important to him so he wanted the best for her. " I hope we can find something like that then! It would be the best discovery I would have made to this day! So, let's go forward and explore that ruin!"

"... You're so kind, Daxter. I'm glad we met," okay women were seriously angels that roam the earth because Clara's expression was just too much for him to handle. No one ever looked at him with gratitude. "Oh! Look, Dax! Those are the ruins," Daxter snapped his head in the direction in which Clara's hand was pointing in. "HAHA! Time to shift into top gear! Hold on tight, Dax, we are on a nonstop ride to those ruins at top speed~!"

The buggy lurched forward and Daxter clung for dear life onto Clara's scarf as his body flapped like a flag in the wind. If only he had stayed in the passenger seat this ride fast ride would be a bit more fun, but he did have to admit being pulled by the wind and burying his face into the soft scarf was fun enough. A lot more exciting than the previous months of his life.

Just as abruptly he was launched into the wind he was thrown into Clara's head.

"Ow! Haha, was that too much? Sorry, Dax, but we are here and it's so much more amazing to look at the ruins up close, like, it is so amazing," Clara had gotten out of the buggy and was looking around the entrance of the ruins. She looked so excited that Daxter couldn't help feeling happy too.

"It's not a problem. I've been through a lot more and it'll take more than a bumpy ride to get me to a 'Daxter is out' level," Daxter went and joined Clara out on the small investigation. There was a lot of what he had seen before - sand and old pottery. It didn't look like there was anything dangerous on the outside of the building, so that was a plus. The closer Daxter roamed to the entrance of the building the more he was able to pick up a strange sweet smell that seemed to be coming inside.

"Hey, Clara, I think we should be careful once we go inside. I'm picking up some funky smell that's coming from the inside so be careful, alright? If we aren't careful we'll end up getting ourselves into some deep shit," Daxter turned to look at Clara to see her engrossed with examining the old writing on the sides of the building. He could only hope that she was paying enough attention to what he said. It would be trouble if she ended up getting hurt, especially since she was the one that can drive the buggy, considering he can't drive it with how small he was.

"Do you understand what the writing says on the wall?" Daxter was a little curious considering it wasn't a dialect that was far off from what he spoke back in Sandover.

"Mmm, not really, it's a rather old language so I don't really know anything that's written on here," Clara was still looking pensively at the writing. Too Daxter it really wasn't that important.

"Well, it just talks about the precursors and how awesome they were, even though they aren't, and how this temple is dedicated to them. It's not that really enlightening, trust me. It's just best if you look inside for yourself than just wondering what the wall says, dontcha think?" Daxter stalked off towards the entrance of the temple, ready to look around.

"Wow…. How did you read that? That is so cool, c'mon Dax, you have to tell me!" Clara chased after Daxter, her curiosity piqued once again. "I know you said you came from the past, but from the time that you told me you came from, this temple was built afterwards so the language evolved!"

"Well, most of it is similar enough that I can tell what it says, but really it just talks about the precursors. Nothing interesting actually. We should go inside, honestly there are more interesting things inside the temple than that crap on the wall," Daxter knew that might be a little harsh, but the precursors had done enough for him that he didn't feel bad about it.

"Well, you seem a little grumpy, but you do have a point. There are bound to be heaps of interesting things inside! Will you tell me what things work for if there is a description of them near? I would really like to know if it's okay with you," how could Daxter say no to such a nicely asked request.

"I'm not a guardian or priest of this place, so you can ask whatever ya want. You know, you can take whatever you want as well! I'll make sure you don't take anything dangerous so you won't need to worry about that. Just have fun looking around. Jak and I always just had fun when we looked around places like this," Daxter had sniffed the air in the hallway leading from the entrance. There didn't seem to be any sweet smelling scent around the place anymore, but he could have just gotten used to it.

"Remember what I said, Clara, be careful 'cause there was a funky smell around this place earlier."

"Aye aye, captain! Let us proceed with caution and stay aware! Watch out for booby traps, young Dax, they get the best of us," Clara's fake pirate accent was the best. It was so on spot it would be difficult knowing that she just cared for sick and hurt animals.

*snort* "You are the worst, you know that, right? Hahaha, I've never met anyone with such a perfect impersonation of a pirate that has never been by the sea!" By this time they had entered into a large chamber that branched off into many hallways. Each one had a different feeling to it...and it seemed that each one had a different scent to it as well.

"Each one smells differently. What do you think that means," Daxter was slightly concerned knowing well enough that the different scents could mean that different things lie at the end of each hallway. And what was waiting at the end of the hallways could not all be good things.

"They all probably have some of ritual chamber at the end. That could explain the different smells, since the rituals could be different and require other things. We can skip the chambers for now and go up those stairs. There also looks like to be a pathway that goes further down. We have lots of choices so we don't have to rush," Clara peered down the steps leading underground using her lantern to throw some light downward.

Daxter thought about it for a long while, thinking of his past experiences and how bad this could all go if they went the wrong way. For now, he thought it was best if they could see the most of the place so going upstairs was best. You do not want to be downstairs if any thing goes down or the place collapses. They could always come back and go down one of those different hallways.

"We should check what's going up above. Then we can come back down and check out the different chambers. Does that sound like a good idea?" Daxter didn't want to order Clara around or make any decisions for them since this was mainly her idea.

"Yeah, that makes pretty good sense," Clara nodded enthusiastically. "If anything goes off in these old ruins they can break down so going down into the basement would leave us trapped. You know your stuff, Dax, I trust you," with that Clara made her way up the stairs and Daxter bounded after her taking his time climbing each step. This always made him feel as small as he was since Clara, or Jak, or anyone for that matter, could just eat up the ground with their strides.

It wasn't that bad though, since they tended to miss details that would lie beneath their line of sight, so he felt good about being small. It wasn't always a good thing to be big, and while having been first turned into an ottsel, he had all the time to think of the positives that come with being, one and ottsel, and two small. He could literally hide anywhere and most enemies would not find him since they wouldn't think of looking into the smallest places. He could also infiltrate places easier and not look suspicious since most people would think he was a lost pet.

Being an ottsel was pretty cool considering he had a better sense of smell so he could literally find anything lost by scent. In the wild he has a bigger advantage since he can get around more easily by following his ottsel instincts on where to go and which route was the safest. Positive thinking was always the solution to any negative feeling that come up. He knew that he was just making the list so that he could accept the fact that he wouldn't go back to being human and he would just have to make it work. He would have to _be_ or pretend to be happy to live out his life as best as he could.

Jak still talked about it from time to time. Finding a way to get him back to his original form. Daxter believes that his sentiments mainly rise from feeling guilty, and Jak probably thinks he holds a grudge against him and hasn't forgiven him. It's not bad to hope, but sometimes you just have to accept things for how they are and right now Daxter is an ottsel and they should focus on getting a better life and settling down.

The upper floor looked to be more promising considering that this level was probably where all the priests lived by the looks of the many staircases and rooms that seemed to sprout from nowhere. Seriously, how many fucking people lived in this temple and how could they live in such cramped conditions? This is why Daxter could never like priests who took things a little too far like this.

"Do you want to start exploring the rooms? We could probably find artifacts inside the rooms and I can try to read anything that you find," Daxter was peering into a large vase by one of the grand staircases and made the discovery of his life, in his opinion.

"Hey! Look what I found! There's a buncha precursor orbs shoved in this thing! Can you help me get them out of here and into the bag? I am so blessed right now," Daxter was already pulling orbs out and setting them outside by the vase.

"Why are you so excited? Yeah, you don't really find them but out here in the desert they are worthless. Do you really want to take these back?" Even though Clara was skeptical about Daxter's choice of items to take back she was still picking up the orbs he placed out and packing them into a bag.

"Clara, I thought you should know, but these precursor orbs in my time where the shit! I have to take these back with me! I know out here they won't get you crap, but there are vendors in the city that do take them, and let me tell you - you can buy some really nifty and interesting things in the city," he remembered one time Jak and him had gathered enough orbs to buy something small, and their selection of buying an old looking powercell that miraculously came from their time had been the best decision they had made. They have it back on display in their small home back in Spargus and it really makes things better. A small piece of home in a strange place.


	5. Chapter 5

Daxter didn't know how much time had passed since they both had gone to explore the other rooms in the ancient ruins. He felt as if he could go on for eternity looking around without ever getting tired of it, but it reminded him too much of the old times. Something of his past that he loved, but that of which he could never return to.

Stealing a glance, Daxter could see that Clara seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly - exploring and discovering all the things that held something personal to who he was. He felt warm at the thought of someone enjoying and appreciating the past and knowing that it wasn't buried away never to be remembered.

Padding across the room away from Clara toward another hall, the stone floor beneath the pads of his paws grew colder. This new hallway seemed to drop in temperature in comparison to the rest of the ruins even though it wasn't any different from the other halls they had gone through, and a sour smell seemed to seep through the stone. Like a citric fruit that had been left alone for too long and had began the decomposing.

A sense of foreboding quickly replaced the feeling of comfort from earlier and the feeling of anxiety came along as well. There was only one thing that existed in this world that could cause him to feel so negatively.

Even if he was afraid, Daxter could not seem to stop himself from going further into the depths of these ruins. It was as if something was calling out to him, encouraging him to go closer to the source of what was causing his fear - and he had no way of rejecting its call. The walls plastered with the carvings of a tale lost to time scaled far up the walls where they met the high arch of the ceiling with its stone obsidian black as the night sky.

The air around seemed to buzz with an unknown energy that made the fur on Daxter's body stand on end, but even as everything around him screamed for him to turn around, forward was the only directing his feet seemed to carry him. It was as if whatever was calling to him was pulling at something deep within his core.

As Daxter approached the end of the hall a soft incandescent light poured out from the entrance and coated the surrounding walls in a purple glow. Seeing the purple color dancing about the wall in a swaying motion solidified his suspicion from earlier.

Daxter could recognize the sour smell of dark eco from anywhere and the crackle of dangerous energy that danced around. Being dumped in it leaves a scarring impression, not to mention being around someone that can use dark eco. You become familiar with it real fast. It's impossible to forget something so negative in your life to not recognize it in an instant. Still, Daxter wanted to see how much was in that room exactly and if the people from this temple actually used it for something. Maybe he could tell Samos about it and he could find a way to seal the dark eco away so that no one would use it to cause harm.

Experience has taught him over and over again that anything that has to do with dark eco was bad news. There really weren't any exceptions to that rule. Gol and Maia had been proven to be a force to be reckoned with, Praxis and Kor both sinister in their own intentions. It was best to know where large amounts of dark eco was so that they can prevent something.

Impatient Daxter broke into a run, nervous energy finally breaking through the fear he held. He figured that the only way to break through his fear was to throw himself at whatever was causing it. So far that really seemed to work for him in past situations, so it shouldn't be any different for him now.

However, as he came closer to the entrance he quickly noticed that the floor ended abruptly, and all that lay past the entrance was, what seemed to be, a deep fall over the edge. Panic flooded all his senses as he turned around and tried tried to stop his momentum before he toppled over the edge. He was regretting the impatience that he always seemed to have with anything that came his way. The nails of both his front and hind paws scratched on the ground as he scrambled in a fury in hopes of finding a deep enough crack that he could get a grip on.

Flying out over the edge Daxter let out a jarring scream as he frantically reached out toward the edge in a last attempt at saving himself from falling down into the pit of dark eco below. As the ledge only grew further from him, Daxter couldn't help to think about how stupid he had been in _running_ towards dark eco. He knew he should have been careful. Everyone was always going on about how dangerous it was, _especially_ Samos, but yet here he was, falling down towards painful dark eco and there was nothing he could do.

Hearing a loud scream Clara shot up and as soon as she registered it as Daxter she rushed over to where she heard it. Adrenaline running through her blood and her heart beating far too fast with the anxiety she had, she could only hope that whatever danger Daxter was in she wouldn't be too late to help him.

Running down the dank hallway with its iridescent purple light casting dark shadows that scaled up the walls worn by time. Adrenaline streaming through her veins she ran up to the threshold and peered over the ledge with a sharp jut of her body leaning forward. The deep chasm of dark eco bubbled below and looked back up at her as she searched for Daxter.

Seeing other entrances further below that gave way to a small walkway around the pool of dark eco, Clara saw a form lying unmoving on the floor. Tearing herself away from the view, she ran out with all the energy she could build up to find the way down to help. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and she desperately wished that Daxter would be sound and safe.

The world seemed to spin around in circles and fade in and out with a blur. Time seemed like a faraway thing that didn't seem to touch him anymore as he lay sprawled across the frozen ground. The only real thing that seemed real in this moment was the pain that throbbed through his entire body. It felt as if he had been crushed and reformed in a crude manner.

After laying for what seemed like an eternity Daxter blearily blinked his eyes and tried to take in the sight that lay before him without moving. Confused as to why he was laying on the ground in an unknown location, he tried to recall what was the last thing he had been doing. Closing his heavy eyes for a moment Daxter forced himself to remember where he was and why he was there.

Slowly Daxter remembered having come to an ancient ruin with Clara to explore and discover new things. He remembered having explored for four hours before reaching a room that had many doorways leading into different areas. And then… and then? What had happened after that?

Furrowing his brow Daxter desperately tried to remember what he had done to get here. What did he do? Swallowing harshly, Daxter let out a harsh cough as his mouth felt drier than the desert outside. This feeling was almost as bad as being shoved into a pool of dark eco.

Dark eco…? In that moment Daxter opened his eyes as the memory came rushing back to him of how he had fallen off the ledge and fell down into the eco. He remembered the fall and how time seemed to leap forward. And he remembered the burn of the eco making contact with his skin and how he felt like he would die. Turning his head Daxter looked up to the ceiling but quickly turned back to his previous position and even that simple action seemed to pain him too greatly. He decided that he would start out by slowly moving parts of his body and hoping that the pain would soon fade away.

Firstly, he started by wiggling his fingers and toes and moving on to slowly move his feet and hands, and then the rest of his limbs. It was a painful process as the eco had left the feeling of his nerves being fried, but Daxter couldn't let himself go now. Not when he didn't know whether he would be found by Clara-or if she even noticed him missing at all.

Deciding that he had enough energy to get himself up, Daxter tried to prop himself up on his elbows to lift his upper body of the ground and hopefully get the rest of him up. Taking in a deep breath he pushed himself up and opened his eyes.

A cold chill ran through him as he stared straight down to his forelimbs. Instead of orange fur covering his arms, there was just skin. Pale skin over bones. Looking at where his front paws would be he saw regular human hands. His hands. Daxter was confused, scared, and he could tell that a panic attack was coming on.

As quickly as he could, Daxter righted himself and took a better look at the rest of him. He was no longer two feet tall, covered in fur, or had a tail. Instead there before his eyes lay a human body, thin and feeble with no muscle beneath the skin-his body that was terribly thin, almost like a skeleton.

A small sob broke out for him. A cascade of emotions hitting him all at once at having his body once again. He was elated far beyond his own belief, but he was also terrified beyond anything else. How was anyone supposed to recognize him? Would they accept him back? What would Jak and the others say? Holding out his shaking arms Daxter inspected himself closely.

He seemed a little off from being worse for wear, but either than that everything seemed to be intact. Reaching up Daxter ran his fingers through his hair, over his ears, and across his face. Staring out into nothingness Daxter was dumbfounded at what he had just gone through. What he was.

Letting his hands fall down to his sides Daxter looked upwards trying to think of what his next move would be and how he would adapt once again to a new body. The only thing that broke him out of his trance was the sound of quick and loud footfalls that echoed in from the entrance. Fear spiked in him and Daxter struggled to scramble backwards away from whatever was coming at him so quickly.

Bracing himself for an enemy Daxter was surprised to see Clara burst into the room wildly looking around before her eyes fell on him and froze in place. Time seemed to stand still as they stared back at one another before Clara dashed forward and dropped to her knees in front of him, cupping his face in her hands.

"Daxter, is this you?" the words fell from her mouth in a whisper so quiet that it seemed as if she was afraid of being too loud for him. "Is this you? I was so worried when I heard you scream. You're not hurt, are you?" Daxter just sat for a little, stunned that she wasn't more surprised as she turned his head from side to side, inspecting him for injuries.

"...Uuum…." Daxter winced at the sound of his voice, it was so terrible even to his own ears.

"Hold up! I have some water right here for you to drink," Clara handed Daxter the pouch of water and quickly brought out a large sheet out of her bag as well. Daxter drank from the pouch eagerly as the feeling of dehydration caught up with him. Clara wrapped the large sheet around Daxter tightly as she inspected him once again.

"Slow down, Dax, you don't want to hurt yourself now," Clara gently pulled the water pouch away from Daxter so he wouldn't drink too fast and hurt himself. Brushing his hair out of his face Clara sighed and thought to herself how sad that he really had been turned into an ottsel all these years.

Daxter suddenly felt very self conscious of how Clara's first impression of his human self was this scrawny imperfect boy. Because boy was what he felt like. This body of his felt as if it had not aged during all those years as an ottsel and it only made him insecure. Feeling his anxiety spike, Daxter decided to break the silence before it got too much for him to handle.

"So, what's the gameplan now? I mean… you can't really bring me back into the city without them realizing that you're bringing in a person now and not to mention that you won't be bringing the ottsel back with you so they'll most likely k…." For some reason he couldn't understand his voice had just faded out and he swallowed harshly against the lump forming in his throat.

He forgot all about what being human again meant. Things wouldn't be as easy for him to accomplish anymore. He couldn't infiltrate places as easy and Torn would most likely tell him to get lost since he wouldn't be useful for him any longer.

How would Jak and the rest react to him being human again. Would they even believe it was him or would they call him crazy and turn him away too? At that Daxter's eyesight blurred and forth spilled all the pent up emotions that he had been holding in for so long.

"Clara! What am I supposed to do!?" Throwing his arms out he began to openly sob out all the fears he held in his heart. "I can't do anything in this form! I can't get back into the city with you, I can't take care of myself like this, I can't even function properly on my own right now! LOOK AT ME! I'M JUST SKIN AND BONES! NO ONE WILL ACCEPT ME LIKE THIS! NOT EVEN MY CLOSEST FRIENDS WILL TAKE ME BACK NOW! NOBODY WANTED ME LIKE THIS BEF-!"

At first the sharp sting of Clara's hand making contact with his face and the resounding echo made him even more upset, but when he turned his face back to Clara all the anger inside of him dwindled away. The look on her face only spoke of the indignation she felt listening to Daxter talk about himself as if he didn't have any self worth.

In silence she wiped his tears away and gently pulled him into her arms to give him the comfort he was in need of. She softly ran her fingers through his hair combing it back and out of his face as she let him cry against her.

"Daxter, I can tell you for sure that your friends would not reject you just because of your appearance. Remember you told me that Jak went with you on that adventure to get you turned back?"

"Yeah…. But I guess he only did it cause he was feeling guilty about it."

"Oh shut up, Dax, you know, as much as I do, that Jak really cares about you!"

"How would you know that? You don't even know him."

"Well because from what you have told me about him, he seems like the type of person that would fight to protect the people he loves, and he has kept coming back to look for you even though it's dangerous. I don't know about you but, I think risking your life for someone is love."

"... You really think he does care about me? Like, he wasn't just keeping me around cause he felt guilty?"

"I'm pretty positive that he isn't keeping you around out of guilt but because he genuinely cares about you, Dax."

"Okay, I'll trust you but, what do we do now that I'm like this. I don't even have clothes, Clara." Sitting back up Daxter looked around confused and lost as to what they were going to do and how Clara wasn't panicking.

"Well, I brought extra clothes and I'm pretty sure you'll fit in them, so we'll get you dressed first. And before you ask me about getting into the city…. Well we're not going back there!"

"Wha-" Daxter's mouth was quickly met with her hand firmly pressed up against it.

"A-a-ah. I got this all under control my young strapping lad! We aren't going back because we are gonna go to Spargus! Okay, don't give me that look, I actually thought about this okay."

"Really? Cause I'm pretty sure that the moment they see us they'll shoot us _OR_ they'll try to get information out of us by torturing us and then _**KILLING**_ us!"

"Good to see your feeling better my friend, but they won't kill us right away if they want information- which I'm not giving them. But you are forgetting something my freckled redhead." with that she booped his nose and sprung to her feet already on the hunt for the extra clothes in her bag.

"And what's that? Our common sense? Because I'm sure you threw that out into the pool of eco here the moment you _even_ thought about going to Spargus!"

"Tsk, tsk. You wound me, my boy, but no it's not that. You are forgetting that we have an ally in there! I'm one hundred percent certain that Jak wouldn't let you get killed by Damas, so you're safe, and I'm one hundred percent that you won't let them kill me. Here let's get you in these new threads and get on with part two of our adventure. Besides I need to get some food into you. I don't think Jak would like it if it looked like i had you starving…."

Helping Daxter stand up, Clara led him away from the chamber of dark eco and worked on helping him get dressed. Once satisfied with his appearance, they both made their way out of the ancient ruins and back to the buggy that Clara had hidden away.

Daxter was still feeling out of it as he still couldn't believe he was back to being a human. He shouldn't be here, he should have died after falling into that pool of eco, but maybe there was a reason he was still alive. A warm feeling began to bubble in him as he grew excited at the thought of being reunited with his friends. Further inspecting himself, he would make sure to ask Clara to cut his hair since it felt a little too long for his liking at the moment and he was sure he looked more scruffy than charming.

Jumping into the driver's seat Clara started up the buggy and tore away from the ruins leaving behind a cloud of dirt and the resounding noise of her excited laughter raising up into the sky.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time they had gotten anywhere remotely near the city of Spargus the sun had already crawled under the horizon hours ago. How many? Daxter wasn't really sure, but it was many. Daxter didn't know exactly how Clara could see in the dark so well or how how she could keep driving at such high speed without showing any fear for throwing them over a ledge or crashing into any of the trees and boulders that littered the desert.

After hopping into the buggy and driving in the direction of the city, Clara had shoved a pack full of food and water to him and had basically ordered him to eat and drink. Daxter wasn't against the idea of stuffing himself with food considering that once the shock had worn off he realized that he was starving. It weirded him out a bit, being able to hold the food in his human hands and biting through the food felt off to him.

His canines weren't really as sharp as they had been when he was an ottsel, so very much at the moment Daxter felt off kilter. Having to wear Clara's clothes wasn't helping much either. The fact that the clothes fit him a loosely, and that he wasn't used to wearing clothes made him feel awkward. The clothes chafed his sensitive skin, making it look red. Like a rash. Great. He'll be reunited with all the people he cares about back as a human-and he's going to be sporting a rash. He wanted to cry again, but opted to putting food in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

"Okay, Dax, we will be reaching our destination shortly, which is actually an hour away. BUT! We'll be there soon so no worries, uh, I know this is probable us going to die soon and all, so I'll make this short. We'll park the buggy somewhere hidden, walk up to the gate and beg them to let us in and not kill us. Then we'll say who you are and hopefully your buddy boy Jak will be there to vouch for us."

The smile she gave him at the end was one that was optimistic but also a question to whether he was okay with their plan.

"Clara, that is the most stupidest plan I have ever head-and trust me I have heard a lot of stupid ideas because of who I have lived with most of my life. Honesty, I don't think it's going to work, but at this point who gives a shit cause I can't defend myself. I can barely move because of my weak body, so yes I love your plan let's go full throttle," Daxter popped more food into his mouth and chewed in her direction with a small smile.

"I just _knew_ you would love the idea! Hey, throw some food in my mouth would you? I have no idea when we'll get to eat again once inside, if we don't get shot outside first, of course. By the way, how are you feeling? Food is treating your stomach good? You like my wonderful clothes?"

"Uh, the food is good, your clothes is chafing all my skin off, but hey it's better than being nude to be honest so no complaints here. Oh, and about jak vouching for us, how do we even know he's gonna recognize me and not have a meltdown. Like, _I_ would have a meltdown if he was an ottsel and then he was human again. Also, I have no idea if he'll even be in the city or on a mission. Fifty-fifty there Clara."

"Luck my boy," she clasped a hand onto his shoulder and turned her determined face towards him. "Luck is all we have to count on, so get to channeling it all while you sit there and fatten yourself up so that your friend doesn't knock my teeth down my throat."

"Well, I hope you know that it was knice knowing you Clara, and I'm glad we get to die together. Like it should be."

"Awww, that is soo sweet of you, Dax. It's nice to die with you too, honey."

Pressing her foot down harder on the gas pedal, the car lurch forward almost causing them both to smack their heads on the dashboard, but they just giggled together, nervous of what they would be faced with next.

After hiding the buggy out in a small cave near the city, Clara and Daxter had moved to hide behind a dune near the city gate and scope out the amount of people defending it. The top of the gate was lined with a good number of strong looking warriors looking for any signs of life they can get rid of.

"Sure, ya know, this will be _totally_ okay. I'm not dying on inside and ready to pass out at this moment. Yeah, we'll _totally not die_. I can't believe I agreed to this stupid plan."

"Shush, Daxter, don't be such a baby. We can't back out now okay, so relax. I got this all planned out okay. C'mon let's go!" Clara grabbed Daxter by the wrist and dragged out from behind the dune and sprinted out across the open ground towards the gate.

"Clara! What are you doing! They are going to _shoot_ us!" Daxter could feel that either his heart was going to stop beating from fear or he was going to pass out as Clara continued to ignore him and headed straight to the gate. The guards had already taken notice of them and had their aim set on them.

"HELP US, PLEASE! WE ARE BEING CHASED BY MARAUDERS AND MY FRIEND IS ILL!"

"NOBODY ENTERS THE GATES OF OUR CITY UNLESS YOU HAVE A PASS SAYING YOU ARE FROM HERE! RETURN TO THE DESERT UNLESS YOU WISH TO DIE HERE!" The sound of their charging weapons was clear to hear in the quiet desert where the wind only moaned.

"PLEASE! HELP US, MY FRIEND IS TO WEAK TO KEEP RUNNING FROM THEM! WE HAVE ARTIFACTS FOR PAYMENT AS WELL!" From within her bag Clara brought out a small precursor artifact and held it up for them to see. "PLEASE! WE'LL EVEN HELP YOU FIND MORE, BUT IF YOU SEND US BACK OUT THEY'LL FIND US AND KILL US. THEY'LL TAKE OUR ARTIFACTS AND TELL THEM WHERE TO FIND MORE!" Clara waved her arm about emphasizing about the artifacts. The guards above seemed unsure and resorted to speaking amongst themselves on what they should do.

"Do you think they'll let us in? I don't think me being sick and the artifacts will cut it, Clara" Daxter couldn't believe that Clara could be so sure that their plan would work out. The people of Spargus weren't merciful people in the slightest.

"Put a little trust in me okay. Afterall, I'm pretty sure with all the trips they take out to the desert looking for artifacts, I'm sure they'll take us in. easy artifacts to collect and we can help them find more. Honestly asking them to help us because of you didn't seem like it was working so i had to think of something else. Look they're even debating it. We are definitely getting in." Clara smiled at him wholeheartedly and Daxter felt that strangling himself was the better choice in their situation.

"I'm pretty sure that's your delusion speaking, but at least we die together if anything...I guess." Daxter looked up as the sound of light talking had stopped and the guards were looking down at them with scrutiny.

One of them stepped forward and with his booming voice he called them to his attention.

"WE HAVE SPOKEN TO THE KING AND HE HAS ALLOWED YOUR ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY! BUT! YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED GUESTS HERE BUT WILL BE OUR PRISONERS!"

"Could have been worse right, Dax?" Clara turned to him giving him a shrug and a small smile.

"THAT MEANS THAT IF YOU BETRAY US OR WE FEEL YOU COMPROMISE THE CITY'S SAFETY WE WILL TERMINATE YOU IMMEDIATELY!" The resounding laughter of the other guards rang out in the night as the gate opened with a large groan.

"Great, we are going to die one way or another, but I'm betting we are going to be tortured first, abused, and then killed. You really outdid yourself with this catastrophe Clara," Daxter couldn't help but feel unhappy. Yeah, it was in a way a win for them, but it would be difficult to get themselves out of this mess.

"Correction, my dear boy, we got into the city without dying. Yeah, we might die inside the city, but I have a plan to prevent that too. Haha I'm totally a genius, Dax."

Daxter shook his head as they stepped forward to meet the guards that came to escort them. He tightened his grip on Clara's hand as they were roughly shoved forward as the gate clanged shut behind them as a sharp reminder. This was only the beginning to their fight for survival.

The city of Spargus was just as dusty and hot as Daxter remembered it being. Especially with all the bitter people who were always covered in grainy sand. Everyone who they passed stared at them openly with curiosity and with rancor. As usual the people here weren't as friendly and he only hoped they wouldn't be subject to their torment.

The guards roughly grabbed at them and shoved them on the elevator with a little more power than necessary, almost shoving them to the floor. Anxiety welled up in Daxter as his heart rate sped up. He could see that Clara was also nervous as her face had become unreadable.

He couldn't remember how many times he had come up onto this same elevator with Jak to speak with Damas and he hadn't felt anything other than boredom, but now it seemed more ominous. Damas only tolerated him because of Jak. and Jak wasn't anywhere around to help him now.

With a sharp jolt the elevator came to a halt and both of them were thrown out onto the cold stone floor. The sound of rushing water filled his senses and Daxter lifted his head to look around precariously for the man that would decide their fates. His heart almost seemed to stop and it took his all his willpower to not let it fall out of his mouth.

There Damas sat in his throne, cold unforgiving gaze cutting right through him. His unnerving gaze had Daxter feeling a cold pit forming deep in his belly. Next to him he could hear Clara take in a sharp breath at seeing everything around them and then him. Her hand quickly searched out his as gripped it tightly trying to quell her own fears.

" _These_ are the people you mentioned that had collected artifacts and are one the run? You expect me to believe that these weaklings are capable of even surviving in the harsh environment of the desert? Do you think to make a fool out of me?!" Damas' raspy voice rang out clearly, cutting out through the air setting a heaving atmosphere with the amount of power he commanded.

"Ahem, uh, we apologize your majesty, but the girl had shown us an artifact that she had pulled out of her bag, so we, uh, thought that they would be of interest if they did in fact know where there were more artifacts to be found. We didn't think you would want the marauders getting to them first if that was the case," one of the guards that had brought them here had stepped forward sheepishly in an attempt to make their case as quickly so that they wouldn't be punished for bringing them in.

"Alright, I will speak to them on my own, you are dismissed," with a wave of his hand the guards quickly made their way out of the throne room. Now with just the three of them in the room, the air around them had become stifling, making it hard to breathe or move. Daxter had to physically stop himself from flinching as Damas moved across the room towards them, even Damas never hurt anyone physically in all the times Jak and him had come to see him, Damas still exuded an aura that gave off a vibe that said "don't even try messing with me."

"Tell me who you are, why you are being chased, and how you came into possession of those artifacts you have. I'm sure i don't have to tell you _not_ to lie to me in any way," making an emphasis, Damas made sure to send them a glare at his last comment. Daxter didn't plan on trying to find out what would happen if he lied.

"Haha, well you see, funny thing is… uh...well, my orange haired friend here is someone you actually know," Daxter didn't know if it was her awkward laugh or the way she gripped his shoulders with uncertainty that made him wish for the ground to swallow them up. "You see, this beautiful boy here, is Daxter! You know Daxter, right? Best boy of the hero boy Jak! Used to be an ottsel, but here he is in his human form again," a light shake from her rattled any thoughts he had forming right out of his head.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Damas' booming laughter resounded in the giant throne room making them feel like children. " _You_ want _me_ to believe that _he_ was that _orange rat_ that was always on his shoulder?! HAHAHA! I've never heard something so stupid! I said not to lie to me, but since you made a good joke-I'll let it slide. Now tell me the truth," Damas moved to pace around them chuckling lightly to himself.

"What the fu-look old man, I'm not lying to you at all. You can call Jak in himself and _he_ will tell you that he is Dax, okay? Just cause you're so used to being rude doesn't mean I'll let that comment slide! Dax has been through enough without _your_ condescending ass bringing him down even more!" Letting out a huff of air out Clara glared at Damas, upset that for being close to Jak-the guy really was an ass.

"I will _NOT_ have you disrespecting me! You are here-alive-thanks to _my_ goodwill! Besides even if I did call on Jak to come and vouch for you two, it would be impossible-he would not come," Damas circled the two of them as his words slowly sunk in.

"Why wouldn't he come? If he heard that Dax is here, I'm pretty sure he would come quickly to see that he is safe! You just don't want to be proved wrong! You are a really spiteful old man!"

"Clara! Stop provoking him so much. He _will_ throw us back out into the desert or kill us," Daxter grabbed the arm she had thrown out to accuse Damas with trying to calm her down.

"Hmph! At least _he_ knows how to recognize when it's best to stay quiet. Its not that I don't want to be proved wrong, girl. We just haven't seen Jak in a month, and no one knows where he's gone off too. Hmmm, but I suppose you two could be useful for us," he spun around to sternly look at them. "You two will help with maintenance around the town and other manual labor. If you really are that rat Jak carries around you should know that no one gets a free pass around here. I'll have them come and take you to your cells while I figure out what to do with you both."

Both of them looked at each other with confusion and slight defeat. Daxter didn't know where Jak could have disappeared off to with certainty, but he definitely had the idea to think that it was a possibility that he went back to the city. He could only hope that Jak would could come back to the city soon-if ever at all.

Sitting in the dark cells of the city Daxter paced around full of nervous energy with no way to release it. Clara had given up on staying awake and had gone to sleep. Daxter didn't blame her, she had been driving for so long and without sleep that she deserved it, not in this uncomfortable place, but she deserved it nonetheless.

The sound of fastly approaching people coupled with complaining caught his attention and set him into action. Shaking her with purpose, Daxter desperately sought to wake her before they reached them so he wouldn't be left dealing with them alone. He knew that he should be able to handle talking to these lackeys, but his anxiety got the better of him and he wasn't sure if his body would be able to handle the stress.

"W-what's wrong, Dax? Is something bad happening to you? I'll fight them for you," Clara hops up to her feet almost losing her balance while throwing her hands up, ready to attack.

"It's nothing like that-yet- but put your hands down 's some guys coming this way and I'm pretty sure it's to deal out our sentence of death so don't make them get aggressive with us, okay? I'm pretty sure we would lose, no chance of winning," he grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her down and quickly sat down next to her as the pair of guards stopped in front of their cell.

"Well if it isn't the scum that managed to crawl their way into our city. Don't worry, we won't get rid of you just yet. You two will be work with agriculture and mechanical maintenance here in _our_ grand city. But don't get it wrong you are not civilians! You are nothing but slaves here!" The guard slammed his fist against the cell, a replacement for their bodies as his desire to physically drill that into their minds rolled off of him along with his aggression.

"Really?! _Slaves?!_ You can't be serious! That is so unfair and morally incorrect!" Clara yelled at the guards with strong fervor letting them clearly know her distaste with their future.

"It's that or you're dead meat in the desert you whiny bitch! You don't have a choice anymore! The moment you walked through our gates you gave up your freedom to be the bitch of our people so don't act like you deserve anything!" Violently slamming the cell roughly the guard stormed out of the dungeon followed by his partner who didn't even acknowledge them in any way.

"What a fucking asshole!" Clara all but spat at the guard's disappearing back.

"What did you expect, Clara? I told you things wouldn't work out the way you thought they would, but there's nothing we can do now except do what they say. We might have a chance to fight for a spot among them in the future maybe…. Let's just get some sleep, cause I doubt we'll be getting a good sleeping schedule any time soon." With that Clara still seemed to be miffed but didn't say anything, but instead pulled Daxter to sleep next to her. Not knowing what could happen to them in the future caused them both to fear separation from the only other person who was on their side.

The sun had climbed halfway up the sky, and with its accession it brought the uncomfortable heat of summer down upon the desert with twice as much vengance. Both clara and daxter had been working out in the small fields the city held aside for growing crops to feed the many citizens of the city since before sunrise. Since that time they had only been allowed two small breaks that give them zero relief from exhaustion and heat.

They had barely gotten through half the fields clearing out weeds and it was guaranteed that they would be out past sunset. Daxter's hands were still getting beat up and bloodied even after having been doing this labor for a week and a half. Both clara and him were keeping track of how many times he had thrown up and so far for the day he had only thrown up twice. He likes to think two might be the max for the day, but that was wishful thinking and he shouldn't get his hopes up.

It was unpleasant having to work with your stomach contents dripping down your chin and the stink staying with you all day, but throwing up wasn't any reason for them to stop. After all they were considered slaves and if they died from dehydration or anything else it didn't matter as long as they did the work given to them. He peered over to Clara who was wiping the sweat off her brow and quickly commented to her.

"You know, at this rate we'll be lucky if we even live to the third day of next week, _and_ that's being generous."

She let a small smile grow on her face before responding, " With all the nasty negativity rolling off our "escort" I would say you were giving _too_ much credit. I give us till tomorrow, we won't make it to a second week here. After all they do weed out the weak and let them die, _sooo_ we're high up on _that_ list."

"Well I, for one, wouldn't be surprised if they killed us first."

"Hey! You tow aren't here to chit chat! Hurry up and get back to work before I make it so that you _can't' work_!" The guard watching over them today was one of those assholes that were too drunk on power to think about anything else but displaying it.

"My case in point," Daxter set his mouth into a tight line and both of them quickly got back to work, not wanting to face the wrath of a wound up soldier of Spargus. The first couple of days of talking back got them the beating of a lifetime and neither of them was too keen on visiting those days again.

After another two hours of grueling work in the hot sun the both of them were finally given a break to eat and do anything else they needed to do before they went back to the fields. Sitting down on the ground, Daxter threw his head backwards and let out a loud sigh. Things weren't going as they had planned, but when has anything ever gone anywhere remotely near the way he planned.

Keeping his eyes closed he let the heat of the sun caress his face as the light burned his eyes behind the vision of red his eyelids procured. Lowering his head and resting it against the hand he had propped up on his knee, he slowly opened his eyes and was greeted with the sigh of clara bounding over to him through the sun drunken fields.

A small smile gently tugged at his lips but quickly froze as he looked pas her bouncing sandy blond hair and sparkling eyes to meet a pair of cold blue eyes staring relentlessly in their direction-at him. In an instant that person strode forward to them with purpose in each step he took that seemed to shake the earth down to its very foundation. It felt as if a cold ball of ice had fallen into the pit of his stomach chilling his entire body with trepidation.

All his senses were telling him to get up and put as much distance as he could between himself and the furious man making his way towards him. Slowly daxter got up to his feet as clara joined him by his side, avoiding the look of the beast behind her. He grabbed her hand in a tight grip and started tugging her away from where they were standing with desperation. Clara carried a perplexed look as she let him pull her along.

"Dax, what's wrong? Why are you so scared?"

"Please don't ask me anything right now. Can we just get away from here-and fast."

"Okay, but you aren't making any se-" With a sharp yelp Clara was torn from his grasp with so much force she was basically flung to the ground and left to crash in the vegetation in a heap of limbs.

A pair of strong hands instantly found their way to grip him by the collar of his shirt with the intention of beating him bloody. Almost choking by the amount of force used, daxter was yanked forward, nearly off his feet and forced to meet the spiteful glare of his best friend. The barely contained rage in the body before him caused his mouth to run dry as fear and shock made his mind run blank.

"Who the fuck do you think you are using my friend's identity to sneak into this city!" The snarl that tore from Jak's mouth and reverberated in his skull nearly stopped Daxter's heart. "You better fucking talk before I kill you with my own hands," a crackle of dark eco rippled through the air getting Daxter's brain working again-and fast.

He swallowed thickly and unblinkingly he opened his mouth to respond to the killing intention of the person who was supposed to be his hero in this lonely city.


	7. Chapter 7

Panic causes his heart to seize in his chest as fear and the realization that Jak was not playing around fully registered on all his senses. On instinct his hands flew up to grasp onto Jak's wrists in a feeble attempt to dislodge the iron grip he had on him. The raw unabiding anger that brewed behind Jak's eyes told Daxter everything that he needed to know. Jak did not believe that it was him before his eyes, but an imposter.

The pain of instant rejection is almost enough to make his heart stop from how much it hurt him to know that he was going to be thrown away by the person who he would follow until the end. Daxter opens his mouth to make any response to Jak, but the sob that wants to break loose from deep within threatens to break free. He snaps his mouth close and swallows thickly around the lump that has formed in his throat before trying again.

"W-w-What are you talking about, Jak?" His voice comes out small and broken, instantly making him feel bitter at the fact that the world doesn't give him a single break. He can't even respond as he usually would and it only irritates him more. "You really don't don't think that it's not me, Daxter, right? T-this isn't funny! So, stop and let go of me already!"

The sudden crackle of dark eco around Jak had him flinching away, instantly telling Daxter that he only worked in pissing him off even more.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, HUH?! My friend is somewhere out in that desert outside of these fucking walls that _you_ managed to slither your way into with _your_ filthy lies," Jak aggressively jabbed his finger in the direction of the walls, but each of those jabs contained the anger that was so close to being inflicted on Daxter's body.

"Did you honestly think that I would believe _anything_ that came out of _your_ lying mouth!? Does it look like I'm stupid?! I don't know how you managed to hear that I was looking for my friend out there, but what made you think it was okay for you to take that as your ticket inside this city?! I should bust your teeth in just to teach you not to profit off of other people's pain!"

Daxter freezes not knowing how to respond to his outburst, but the feeling of indignity blooms in his chest alongside with his pain as he tries to figure out what went wrong. Daxter was ready for the promise of the blow, but out from the corner of his eyes he manages to see Clara stand up and rush towards Jak before he could tell her to stop.

"HEY, YOU FUCKING BASTARD LET HIM GO!" Clara rams her body into Jak with an unknown force that Daxter had no idea that she possessed, taking him by surprise as they all crash harshly to the ground.

Jak easily shoves her off of him and looks for Daxter, but by that time he had already managed to dislodge himself from Jak's grasp and scramble away from him towards Clara.

"WHAT NOW THAT YOUR PLAN DIDN'T WORK CAUSE YOUR SECRET IS OUT YOU HIDE?! If you have the balls to be a fucking imposter, then have the balls to face me and your lies!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! You don't even know half of what you're talking about!" Clara's angry yelling reverberated across the large field with indignity. " He's gone through so much to get back here to find you and all you do is beat him around!? How can you call yourself his friend?!"

"He is not my friend! I don't know who he is or how he tricked you two, but that's your problem now not mine!" With a sneer shadowing his face, Jak stormed away leaving them in the dust of their fight.

His last words towards Daxter leaving him cold and despairing.

"You're not worth my time."

The fight had left Daxter distracted through the rest of afternoon getting him in trouble with the guard watching over them more than once. The feeling of restlessness had taken a hold of him since Jak left. He didn't understand why Jak couldn't believe it was him. He still looked like he did from before his transformation into an ottsel.

Was it because it didn't seem believable that he could turn back? Or was it that Jak hadn't seen it with his own eyes for him to believe it was really him? They had tried in the past and it had seemed impossible and for the time being they had put it on hold even without saying anything and concentrated on building the time gate with keira. Maybe if he could find a direct way to prove it was him, without it seeming like he had researched information on him. Only something he knew about them. A moment they shared together.

Frustrated, Daxter stood up and yelled at the top of his lungs not caring if the guard decided to beat the shit out of him now or later. He could tell that Clara was concerned, but even if it was him being selfish he didn't want to talk about what happened or what was on his mind. Finally being released from their work after the guard probably decided with how he was acting it was better to let them go before Daxter went on a rampage and destroyed the crops from whatever fit he was having.

Strutting over to meet Clara by the exit Daxter finally looked at her for once since the fight not afraid to show his discontent.

"I know you probable don't feel like doing anything, but do you want to head into the city? We could probably get something to eat or go down by the water," she offered with a sheepish smile and Daxter did think that would help get things of his mind.

"Alright….but I can't promise I'll be in a good mood."

"That's alright! You don't have to be in a good mood...just get a little change of pace!"

The city was bathed in a warm orange glow by the time Clara and Daxter made it to the market that was buzzing with life. The sun was tucking itself away on the horizon as the moon slowly climbed higher in the sky bringing some relief to the hot day. They had both decided to buy some fruit to share when they got back to their small home and figure out what to do next.

Daxter was still bitter about talking about what happened but he also knew that ignoring what happened wasn't going to get them they weren't going to be welcomed the next thing to do was escape from the city and live in the desert. Living in the desert definitely beat being worked from dawn to dusk for the rest of their lives. It might not be a comfortable life but it was a free life.

Walking up to the fruit stands the people around them seemed to regard them with the same amount of disregard as any other day, but they seemed more colder than usual today. The owners of the stands wouldn't even look at them until it came time for them to pay.

"I think it's best if we get out of here as soon as possible and away from people," Daxter tugged on Clara's sleeve pulling her away from the bustling group of people and towards the isolated area where they can get down closer to the water and out of the site of people.

After both of them had successfully clambered down the side of the cliff and settled on a boulder where the water can just spray them-they finally got a break from the overbearing negativity they received on a daily basis.

"I can't believe he just walked away!" Daxter spat out around his mouthful of his golden fruit before taking another bite of the fleshy fruit.

"I guess he just wasn't thinking straight," Clara commented peeling the thick skin off of her gozen fruit. "I guess he just couldn't believe that you could have found a way back to your human body out there in the desert. I mean the last time he saw you was as an ottsel and you were taken away. I don't think he should have tried to kill you on the spot though, maybe he'll come around."

"I guess….I won't forgive him if he does come around though. Just saying sorry isn't enough after breaking my heart….again," Daxter made sure to say the last part as a whisper. He didn't want Clara to pity him any more than she probably did.

"Oh Daxter!" Clara pulled him into a tight hug and held him there. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. You've never given up before so there's no reason to start giving up now."

Daxter wrapped his arms around Clara and buried his face into the crook of her neck and wished that she was right with every fibre of his being.

Clara and Daxter were sitting at the small table they had in there home as they waited for the guard to come and pick them up at the usual time. Both had been more tired and sore than usual after the long day they had yesterday, especially after they decided to stay by the ocean for a longer time than they should have.

Glancing outside the window again he could see that the light of the sun was illuminating the city. Furrowing his brows Daxter glanced over to Clara and saw the same confused look on her face. Nodding at her, the both of them rose up and walked outside of their house.

Not seeing a single sign of the guard the both of them decided that getting themselves to the field was a better course of action. If they weren't there on time the blame would fall on them and not the guard. As they walked closer towards the inner part of the city there was a noticeable bustle of activity with people running back and forth and with urgency.

Seeing Kliever stomping across the center of the plaza with the air of importance and authority both of them decided to ask him what was going on with the city and why everyone was in a hurry. If Kliever wasn't lazing around leaving work to those below him-something big must have happened.

"Hey! Big guy!" Waving his arm in an exaggerated motion as he lightly jogged up to the blundering guy.

"Wut do ya want ya useless rats," Kliever didn't even bother to look at them, even going as far as speeding up his pace.

"There's no need to be rude, Kliever," Clara popped up on the guys other side. "We just want to know why everyone is in such a hurry. Nothing interesting ever happens _inside_ the city, so what's heating the whole place up?"

They were greeted by Kliever's sharp snort of disapproval, but knowing him, he would tell them just to get them into trouble. They could always count on the hatred he had towards them.

"If ya really want ta know, the city got attacked by those damn metalheads and right after by those damn marauders," the way he barely spit on them in disgust was enough for them to know that this only placed tons of work on him by Damas. "If ya want ta make yerselves useful you can help with defending the city while the gate and other parts of the wall are repaired. Or ya both can get out of my way and go be the rats ya are an bother someone else!"

"Yeah, that first offer of your was our next idea after gardening cause, ya know, we have the weapons necessary to defend a city against murderous marauders and metalheads," Daxter jumped in front of Kliever, obviously riling up the man. "I thought ya said that you were smart? If you were smart you would have-"

Kliever quickly shoved him out of the way with all intention to hurt but Daxter was lithe and able to catch himself before he could fall.

"C'mon, I was only joking, big guy," both of them ran back up after the angry man. "We'll help defend the city but only if you give us weapons"

"Yeah! I'm pretty sure you're low on people that can help," Clara joined in. "I'm pretty sure Damas would want us helping the city with this more urgent task, right?"

Kliever seemed to doubt them for a moment before he sighed and turned toward them.

"Fine! I'll give ya weapons-but! If either of ya does something stupid, i'll skin ya both and throw ya into the ocean. Got it."

"Aye-Aye, Captain!" The both of them said in unison with smiles plastered across their faces. Manipulating Kliever was starting to become a fun pastime.

Both of them hadn't really expected that they would be given big roles, so they weren't surprised when they were handed small blasters and were given the task of patrolling along the top of the wall. Below them hidden behind dunes other wastelanders kept guard in case of any other attacks. Others were busy clearing out dead metal head bodies and collecting vehicles from the marauders.

It wasn't exciting but this could be a chance for them to gain more freedom and they weren't about to pass up that opportunity. Still, with being tasked with patrolling up on the wall, they weren't in any line of fire or in the danger of risking their lives. They had to get down to where the action would really happen.

Throwing a glance to his right side Daxter's eyes met Clara's and he could already tell that they were on the same page on what they need to do. Quickly checking to make sure no one was paying close attention to them he made his way over to Clara where she led him to the end of the walkway.

Tilting her head to the side she motioned for him to look over the side off the wall on the outside. Peering over the edge Daxter saw nothing and turned to look back at her with a confused look on his face shrugging and shaking his head. Rolling her eyes clara grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to look back over with her.

"You see where the gate and the rock meet there," She pointed out with her blaster in a sweeping motion, "we can use those crags in the surface as footholds and climb down from up here. Kleiver won't know a thing since everyone else is so busy having their daily chit-chat around tea. If anyone asks us anything down there...just say we got stationed down there to add muscle."

"Well, even if we get caught it would still be a thousand times better than stayin' up here that's for sure. I'm going first!" Daxter holstered his blaster on his back and climbed over the the side and clambered down the side of the cliff. Clara quickly followed his lead letting out a giggle in delight at their rebellion.

"Wow! You are really good at this aren't you?" Looking down at Daxter, Clara gave him a lopsided smile admiring his ability to climb down without faltering or messing up.

"Well, I guess spending years being an ottsel had it's perks, haha," with a thump Daxter hopped off the side down to the floor and waited for Clara to descend. Once both of them were on the ground they made their way to the edge of the area in front of the gate they were protecting while the technicians made their repairs.

"Okay! We managed to get outside the wall for once and have a taste of freedom on the sandy wind! I say we party tonight. What do you think, Dax?" Clara swiveled around to face Daxter throwing her fists into the air.

"I agree! We haven't let loose in a loooong time so tonight shall be the night," Daxter pointed both his index fingers to the ground in a wavy manner. "What should we do with our limited freedom outside the walls? Let's ask that technician what he's doing," pointing in the direction of a lone technician working on fixing a large panel of the gate that had been too damaged to be salvaged.

"Well I have zero arguments for that one! Let's chat him up!" Clara hooked her arm into Daxter's and led the way over.

"Hello there, god of mechanics, can these humble mortals know what you may be doing there," Clara gave an exaggerated bow that Daxter followed in suit both of them trying not to laugh at the man's reaction to them.

"Uuuuh...I'm just switching out this damaged panel on the gate for another one…," he lifted the goggles out of his eyes and stood up out of his squat.

"You sure are taller than I thought you were from over there," Clara pointed to where that had been standing. "Isn't anyone going to help you place that panel? It looks a little too big and heavy for you to do this alone. How'd you get it off in the first place?"

"I just took out the bolts holding it onto the wall from the bottom and worked my way up and then let it fall off. Um, everyone else is busy working on the other parts of the gate to be helping me over here and since I'm the best at this kind of stuff...well, they just left me to figure it out," the man looked worn out and frustrated since fitting the heavy panel on his own was basically impossible.

"Well if you want," oh no, Daxter can already tell where Clara is going with this conversation. " we can help you get it up and bolt it in. Nothing interesting is happening so we have time to help."

"Wha- really? You'll help me?" the man genuinely looked surprised even with Clara's enthusiastic nodding. "Guards don't usually help at all with this type of stuff so I'm a little surprised...thanks! My name's Derron by the way."

"My name is Clara!"

"And my name is Daxter! Remember it."

"Oh, so you two are the supposed infiltrators. You two sure are different from what everyone was saying you were," with that Derron looked them both up and down.

"What have they been saying about us," both of them had never heard of any rumors so far, besides nasty attitudes.

"Well, just that you two planned on killing Damas and Jak but were caught. Honestly I just thought it was people letting their imaginations run away from them since no one has ever infiltrated Spargus before. Seeing you two, I have no idea why they would think that at all. We should get started so that we can go back in already," Derron turned around and made his way to the edge of the replacement panel. "We need to hook this up to this pulley system so that we can place it over the empty spot. From there we'll just bolt it into place."

"Okay...I'll take the right side and you take the left?" Clara gave Daxter finger guns as she walked away from Daxter returning the motion.

"Heh, you two sure are a pair," Derron hooked the panel up and gave a shout up at the person working it to pull it up over the area. "So you two were finally given pardon and allowed to be citizens? I'm surprised they placed you in the guard so fast, but we are short on people so it was kind of expected."

"Actually….we haven't been pardoned buuut, we weren't going to pass up the opportunity for a little freedom," Clara swung from her pulley waving the bolt gun carelessly.

"Yeah, we're actually having a small party tonight to celebrate this small victory," Daxter also took to swinging back and forth in a bored manner while they waited for the panel to be positioned. "You are invited to come party with us if you'd like. It's going to be the best party Spargus ever had."

"OOOOH Daxter, you genius!" Clara flapped her arms in excitement. "You have to come, Derron! No ifs or buts, you are invited and it is mandatory!"

"Hahaha, alright, alright. I'll go just stop pointing that at me already or you'll end up shooting me with it," Derron seemed to be in a better mood than when they first approached him. "Let's get this bad boy secured on so that we can get out of the sun already. At this rate I'll be burned to ashes if we stay out much longer than necessary."

"As you wish your holiness," both of them were greeted by snort in response.

After an hour of work in the sun and Clara nearly decimating her hand, the three of them had finally finished getting the panel secured onto the gate and back on the ground. Both of them were drenched in sweat from the heat of the sun.

"Derron! How can you even walk around normally after this!" Clara stumbled over to him with an accusatory look on her face. "You took of the panel on your own in this heat and put on another! How can you be okay afterwards while I'm dying?"

"Excuse you, Clara," Daxter gave a playful shove. "I know you want all the glory but I'm dying too."

"If you have to know, it's called experience," Derron smirked at the both of them as he hung the towel he used to wipe his sweat around his neck. "I don't know if you know her name, but you should look her up sometime. Maybe she can help you guys out a little."

"That is so dirty!" Daxter chased after Derron and kicked him in the back of his thighs all the while Derron was laughing.

"Haha, I'm just joking! C'mon, since you two helped me out I'll treat you two to a good meal. Probably better than what you can afford with what they pay you two," Derron bent over to sling his arm around Daxter's shoulders and playfully give him a squeeze.

"No fair, Dax," Clara came dashing up to them. "You can't get on his good side all on your own all selfish like."

THRAAAM!

The sound of a blast making contact with the sand sending it flying up into the air broke the three out of their playful banter as the sound of approaching vehicles and more blasts going off quickly got their defenses up.

"Derron you nee-" Clara was cut off as Derron shoved them both to the ground shielding them from the debris and sand flying around them as a blast came their way.

"Okay tough guy, thanks for the save but you can get off us now," Daxter patted him on the arms encouraging him to let them out of his embrace.

"Sorry, it was just instinct," Derron came up to a squat as they collected themselves and surveyed their surroundings.

Blasts were going off in every direction and with the sand being kicked up into the air creating a screen, it was difficult to tell who was friend or enemy as the only thing that could be seen were dark silhouettes and the light from blasters being shot.

"That's fine but, we really do need to get you back inside since you aren't armed and important," Daxter aimed and fired his blaster multiple times at a passing vehicle.

"Who are you calling an unarmed important person," Derron sprinted over to his toolbox pulling out a larger blaster than the one both of them were carrying. "I'm not going to hide away and leave you two here alone."

"Alright!"

"Whooo! Let's get this party on the road! Orange Lighting is back ya"ll!"

The three of them charged forward into the fray getting swallowed up by the cloud of sand shooting after any moving vehicles. Keeping together the three of them worked their way into the middle of it all fighting tooth and nail to kill their enemies and preventing themselves from getting shot and killed. Little did they know that someone else was on their way to the great city of Spargus.


	8. Chapter 8

The deafening blasts from rifles being set off from every direction only added to the massive confusion that ended being the center of the fight. Daxter was trying hard not to get shot by all the blasts coming in and also avoiding the attacks from marauders that came to fight on the ground.

In the beginning it was easy to see where the enemy was and where your comrades were but as cars kept kicking up sand and blast throwing up showers of the grainy stuff it wasn't long before a smoke screen of sand was created and telling who was on your side and who wasn't became harder to tell. And if you couldn't figure it out fast enough you'd be shot. A swinging fist came into his peripheral vision and had him jerking his body back enough to just barely miss getting a fist slammed right into his jaw.

Clara wasn't far from where he was. Fighting hard and just barely avoiding rapid fire that was aimed her way. One marauder stepped in after the first attack and swung a large blade that looked sharp enough to chop her head off in one clean swipe. Clara threw herself to the ground and rolled out of the way of another one of his swings and quickly moved out of his range before going in and launching her own attack.

There were several spots on her body where visible bruises were starting to form. The guys she was up against seemed to notice that she came from the same place as them after looking at her ears since their attacks were charged with an angry energy. The people from their city had short ears that didn't go further out than half their shoulder length at most. There wasn't anyway they wouldn't notice that detail but she wasn't afraid of the risks that came with having betrayed them.

Derron was still going strong holding his own against a group of five marauders even without having a gun to use. He had run out of ammo ten minutes too long ago and had to resort to using whatever he could find lying around. The pulley was still tied up to the panel they were drilling in and the marauders saw an opportunity in that. If they could get up on the panel and climb the pulley they would be inside the city soon enough, and Derron wasn't going to let them do that if he could help it.

Luckily his tool box was still where he left it on the ground and was able to procure a decent sized blade he used when certain parts on whatever he was working required strong cables to be cut. Reinforcements were coming from inside the city but the enemies they were up against were more skilled than the average wastelanders and the city's best were out on high risk missions. While most marauders were average at best there were those who were more skilled and more dangerous than the others. After all the Marauder's city couldn't survive as it has with just average skill.

With all the sound of tires grinding up sand and the blasters going off along with the sounds of men yelling death threats being able to locate exactly where an attack was coming from was difficult. Daxter's senses were still heightened even after his change back so it wasn't as difficult for him but the loud noises were taxing.

There was a small rumor that was flying among all the wastelanders Daxter was coming into contact with. They had all taken the time to warn of a specific marauder that was named Kit and that they claimed was the most dangerous and he should steer clear of him if he saw him. As far as Daxter could tell from the rumors, this Kit guy seemed to be the leader of the raid and hat the main goal was to locate him, kill him, or capture him and take him in to Damas.

That was perfectly logical to Daxter's, but if he was the leader that meant he was probably not going to go down easy and there was no way he wanted to get stuck fighting or catching the guy. He had been doing physical labor for quite a while and he was more lean than muscular, but he wasn't anywhere near the condition or skillful enough to fight a skilled warrior who had the advantage of having all those years of using his own body and honing his skills.

All he was hoping at this point was that his luck was still running at least somewhat in his favor that he wouldn't be the one dealing with that mess. He was quickly running out of energy to keep up this level of fighting and against so many enemies. Being an ottsel and small did add to the ability of being able to avoid getting the shit beat out of you, but now in his human body his reflexes weren't the same. He quickly dropped into a squat to avoid being kicked in the face by a really large and muscular marauder that seemed to come out of nowhere. Honestly it wasn't fair for someone that big move being able to move just as fast as him.

To Daxter everyone was pretty big but for some reason these guys managed to grow bigger and more muscular for being stranded in the desert. He meant to get up and out of range but his thighs and calves had cramped up shooting pain up to his lower back. He really wasn't in any shape to be doing this and silently wished that they had stayed up top but the change of pace was exhilarating at first. He wasn't expecting for things to be so physically difficult.

The next thing he knew he was flying through the air and having slamming into the ground harshly on his side. The impact and the grip he had on his blaster shot a hot searing pain up from his wrists to his elbows and he let go of the weapon with the shock. He rolled onto his back and ignored his pain in favor of locating his enemy and weapon. He lifted his head and was met with the soul of a boot slamming his head back down into the sand and causing stars to dance behind his eyelids.

Daxter's heart immediately picked up its pace and he was sure if this guy didn't kill him the impending heart attack he was going to have would do the job just as good. The extra weight the guy was putting on his foot was further pressing his face into the rough sand and Daxter knew his face was going to be scratched up if he lived through this.

The rough texture of the boot grinding against his face had him praying that the man didn't have a thing for torturing his victims.

He had closed his eyes when the first contact was made but now he slowly opened his eyes to get a look at who was holding him down. Just like the others he wore a mask to hide his face but this man's mask was adorned with horns from dangerous animals of the desert and built in goggles that were tinted black. The mask made sure to cover any recognizable features on the face,but the man's bare arms had detailed tattoos that seemed to speak more about what this man has done and that he was not afraid of pain.

The anxiety he was feeling steadily increased with the time that passed by and his enemy had yet to do anything besides having him pinned to the ground. The sounds of the still ongoing fight around them seemed distant in an eerie way. Almost as if the man had managed to separate them from the rest of the fray. This really could be the end for him. He never really feared dying because of the constant danger his life had been in growing up but for some reason Daxter felt that this man really had his life in his hands and that was the most frightening thing for him. At the very least he would have died on his terms all those other times but now his life wasn't in his control.

"I didn't think Damas had resorted to recruiting kids to fight for him," the smooth sound of the man's voice only made Daxter fear him even more. He never thought that someone who looked so rough, powerful, and dangerous could have a voice that was pleasant on the ears. From his appearance Daxter thought he would have a voice as rough as his looks as was usual with the rest of the evil looking guys he had fought. The pleasantness of that voice held the promise of something more sinister and it was enough to make sure Daxter didn't move an inch afraid that any unexpected movement would bring down hellish pain as punishment.

The man lifted his foot off his face and tucked the tip of his boot under his chin in a display of eerie gentleness and turned his face so that he was looking straight up at him. Daxter thought it was already bad that he was pinned to the ground by this dangerous man, but having to look at the man straight on only made things way worse that he expected. The black tint to his goggles prevented him from telling where he was looking at but the intensity behind the black lenses gave him the gut feeling that all this man's attention was centered on him. Catching this man's attention seemed like the worst thing that could ever happen to whoever had the unpleasant privilege of being within this guy's radar. Daxter's breathe was still coming out in shallow puffs of air from exertion but the newfound fear that managed to crawl into his chest and try to dig out his lungs only made it worse.

"You seem familiar. Red hair, freckles, pale skin, and blue eyes" he rested his foot back on the ground by his head and brought his hand under his chin in a gesture of thought. "There aren't any people with your complexion out here in the desert so my guess is that you come from the bigger city. You don't seem like you are any value to the Spargans if they send you out to die so young. Those cowards in Haven have been throwing out people into the desert to die quite often lately. I could kill you in this instant, but you could be useful in giving me information about both. You will come with me and tell me everything you know or I will make sure to make everyday living hell for you. Trust me, somebody as knew to the world out in the desert as you hasn't faced true fear."

Daxter's fight or flight instincts came in at a sudden burst after hearing those words and quickly shot up to try to escape. He ignored the pain that shot though all his overused body and the sound of the the man's laugh floating across the sand. Being tired and in full panic make his feet slip against the sand almost sending him back down to the ground face first. He knew this must add to the man's amusement. The sight of a scrawny kid making a desperate attempt of getting away from a predator with seasoned killing skill. He had nearly zero chance of getting away.

Just as he was getting his footing back, a car swerved right into Daxter's path nearly hitting him if it wasn't for his quick reflexes that helped him throw himself backwards and out of the vehicles path just in time. The relief he felt with avoiding being crushed by the car was short lived as one man leaned out and aimed at him successfully shooting him in the thigh. The pain was sharp enough to make both his legs give out as he let out a pathetic whimper as he let himself fall onto his back. The sound of approaching footsteps sealed his fate and he knew that the precursors weren't on his side as usual. He couldn't even run away and that was the only thing he knew he was good at.

"You idiot how am I supposed to get any information out of him if you kill him!" The man he had been fighting with earlier had made his way to where he was lying on his back and stopped by his head to look down at him. "We don't have anything to heal him with out here and if he's too weak by the time we get back to our city he won't have a chance at surviving the cells. The bugs will eat his flesh before he gets a chance to spill the valuable information he has that we can use to get into both cities."

The man leaned down and pulled him up from the ground and over his shoulder. Only then did he realize that he still planned on taking him away even if he was wounded badly and by the way he was talking was going to die before they even get back. Daxter put all his effort into struggling as hard as he could but it didn't seem to have effect on the man besides annoying him. The man tossed him into the vehicle without a care that he was bleeding all over the place and then started pulling himself in besides Daxter when another car came flying over a small dune to their left.

The new arrival swerved to a stop before a huge blast exploded from its cannon and collided hard against the protective shell of metal around the car jostling them all. The man had lost his grip with the force of the blast and was thrown backwards into the sand. With everyone distracted by the newcomer Daxter took this as his chance to get away.

As fast as he could he pulled himself over the car's side before the numbness in his leg fully settled in rendering him vulnerable and unable to run away. He fell harshly face first into the sand and looked up just in time to see a familiar face jump out of the other vehicle. The relief that washed over him was enough that he let out a small sob as he did his best to pull himself up.

The strong dark figure of Sig stood out against the creamy sand as he set himself up with his peacemaker at a decent distance and continued with his unrelenting attack. Daxter knew he couldn't stay there or else he was going to get caught up in the line of fire and shot again. He knew a direct hit from that gun would finish the job of killing him. Forcing himself up onto his shaky legs he jogged away as best as he could even with the hellish pain that shot up from his thigh to his lower back with every step he took.

He managed to get a decent distance away from the current fight to a tall enough dune that would give him enough protection against any random shots and flying metal car parts. Throwing himself down onto the ground for cover he leaned against the warm sand and gave himself the chance to look at the damage done to his leg before trying to come up with a plan on where to go from there. His entire leg below his wound was soaked with his blood and that wasn't a good sign.

The edges of where the shot hit him had been burned and the skin around it was blistering while the hole itself was wet with blood and gave a perfect window to the bone through the muscle beneath his skin. He laid back down against the sand and willed himself not to faint in that moment. He had been through enough that this wasn't going to affect him. Not to much at the very least. He didn't want to think about ending up with a limp because of this. If he was going to survive out here being handicapped was the last thing he needed.

Daxter didn't know how long he had laid there in the sand with his eyes closed. Everything had sounded so far away and maybe if he fell asleep for a little while he might be able to get back up with more strength. He was already on his way to drifting off when the sudden feeling of hands grabbing at him and picking him up through the air and onto something warm startled him. He slowly opened his eyes and it felt like an eternity before his eyes focused enough to recognize that he was staring at the ground and at someones back. The first thing that came into his head was the marauder that tried to take him. What little strength he had left he channeled it into putting some kind of resistance against the person carrying him away.

"Oh! Thank the precursors he's still alive!" The sound of relief didn't make him feel any better and instead made his stomach feel like a ball of lead was sinking in it before his brain finally caught up enough to recognize the voice.

"Derron…?"

"Yeah, Dax, it's me," he felt a soothing hand rub up and down his back. He found it slightly amusing that it was soothing instead of uncomfortable. Since his change back to his human body he hadn't like people touching him too much. It was too much stimulation for him to handle. Clara was the only exception to that rule considering that she never betrayed the trust he gave her and was able to read him well enough to know when he couldn't put up with another person's touch.

"Just rest up, okay buddy? I'm going to get you back inside. Clara and I are going to patch you right back up so just stay here with us, okay? Please, Daxter, can you promise me that?" He felt the grip around his waist slightly tighten. He felt that now was probably his cue to say something to comfort him after he sounded so terrified. No one really worried that much about him before and it made something warm and giddy settle in his chest. Maybe it was the blood loss that made him feel like that.

"Mmmkay," he felt dizzy and tired as his eyelids dropped downward while he awkwardly fumbled to pat Derron's back in a way he hoped was comforting and not just him slapping his hand around. "I promise, Derron." Daster really tried hard to keep his eyes open all the way to wherever he was taking him, but he honestly was really tired. He felt that keeping his eyes open was taking up energy that he could use to stay conscious. Besides everything he saw was already blurry, closing his eyes wouldn't make much of a difference. He let his eyes slide shut with the distorted image of Derron's feet making contact with the ground over and over again in some strange urgent way. He'd have to tell Derron he needed to relax more when he woke up again.


End file.
